Will St. Joseph help sell your Spring Texas Home?

What “Days on Market” really means

September 3, 2008

Spring Texas home sellers missed opportunities

September 11, 2008

Yesterday I was at a closing with my buyers who were purchasing a Spring Texas home when a discussion arose about a St. Joseph statue that the sellers had buried in the front yard. The sellers believed that if you want to sell your home, you bury a St. Joseph statue in the yard, say a prayer, and before you know it the house will be SOLD.

Now for a little background on the sellers home, it had been on the market for 270 days which is 3X longer than the average days on market for Spring Texas homes. Its initial list price was $233,000. During the 270 days it was on the market it had been reduced three times. When my buyers and I viewed the home it was on the market for $194,500 or 16.5% less than its original list price.

The home was built in 1984 and although it had some recent updates of flooring in a couple of rooms and new kitchen counter tops and backsplash its window treatments and wallpaper dated the house. The house showed dark because of the heavy window treatments and the upstairs carpet was severely in need of stretching. I almost forgot to mention the blue carpeting on the stairs and in the upstairs gameroom.

After viewing the home, I knew exactly why it had been on the market so long. It showed dark, was in need of updating, and was not a significant bargain in comparison to the rest of the Spring Texas real estate market for buyers to be willing to take on the work. My buyers had vision and could see the potential in the home which is why it was the right home for them.

Did the powers of the St. Joseph statue help the sellers sell their home? Who knows? But what I do know is that I am not about to say anything negative about the husband of the mother of Jesus. I will say, that sometimes even St. Joseph can not do it by himself and he needs a little help from the sellers. Next time you need to sell your Spring Texas home, give St. Joseph a hand and price your home correctly and get it in good showing condition.