3/31/2008

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20 Pros, One Savvy Couple, A Fast Sale 20 Pros, One Savvy Couple, A Fast Sale By Allan Lengel Washington Post Staff Writer Saturday, March 29, 2008; F01 About 20 smartly dressed real estate agents, most of them women, most driving pricey cars, pull up on a tree-lined street in upper Northwest Washington one recent morning. Without hesitation, they step inside a brick, English-style Colonial house on Utah Avenue NW, march around, upstairs and down, open and shut closet doors, peek in bathrooms and generally give the place a good once-over as if they own it -- or are about to.  Minutes later, on this intermittently drizzly day, the agents gather in the driveway to discuss a possible sales price and what, if anything, needs to be fixed up. "It looks so perfect," says one agent, Catarina Bannier. "I would go least mid-800s." "We're not in AU," says Nancy Wilson, the listing agent, a reference to the American University neighborhood, close to a Metro station. "I just want an honest price."  About 10 minutes of discussion ensues. Afterward, Wilson says: "I'm going to chew on it for an hour or two, and then I'm going to call the owners. I know they want it in the 800s." What transpired that day, and in the days that followed, illustrates the hand-wringing process of pricing homes for sale in this down market, where competition can be fierce and where arriving at the right figure has become all the more important.  Price a house too high, and it can languish on the market, agents say. List it, then cut the price, and a prospective buyer may sense vulnerability and try to bid it down. Dennis Melby, a real estate agent with Long & Foster in Bethesda and president of the Greater Capital Area Association of Realtors, said that with so many homes on the market, price "is one way" possible buyers narrow the field. "You don't want to price yourself out of the market," he said. "You can price your house too high, but you can't price it too low. The market usually makes up the difference" with multiple bids. To arrive at the right price, a throng of agents from Evers & Co. venture out to a few homes every Tuesday to help their colleagues figure out the right price and what, if any, improvements need to be made before the property goes on the market.  The improvements may include fixing a fence or a roof, painting, removing clutter or getting the rabbit cage out of the den. "When 25 people go through, people are more inclined to think, 'Maybe they do have some idea -- it's not just this person picking something off the top of their head," said Donna Evers of Evers & Co. On Utah Avenue, preparations leading up to the mass visit actually began in November when Wilson, the Evers listing agent, met with the owners, Alan Lee and his wife, Christina Cornell. The couple plan to retire in North Carolina.  They talked about a few fix-ups on the three-bedroom 1930 house, which has high ceilings and a hot tub tucked inside a small brick room in the garden. In the end, the couple spent about $5,000. They replaced a back door. Painted some areas. Did some minor carpentry in the basement. Fixed the brick walkway out front.  In the meantime, Lee started tracking every home in his 20015 Zip code priced between $700,000 and $1 million. "I like to play with numbers," said Lee, an accountant. Wilson also kept up on the "comps" -- sales of comparable homes in the neighborhood. She prides herself on pricing things right.  On that Tuesday, after the agents walk through the house, they stand in the driveway exchanging thoughts. "The kitchen is gorgeous," agent Rachel Burns pipes in. But with the praise comes criticism. Some note that there is only one bathroom upstairs, and that might turn off prospective buyers. "It looks so perfect, people will forget about the bathroom," Bannier retorts. "I think the low eights is too low." "It should sell for under $800,000," says Susan Berger, who tosses out $789,000. A few minutes later, she concedes: "I'm willing to accept the criticism. I was low." Some mention the hot tub, the charm of it. But they say some would-be buyers might see it as a negative.  Ultimately, it will be up to Wilson and the owners, Lee and Cornell, to set a price.  After the back-and-forth is finished, Lee, who is standing in front of the house, is asked what he thinks of the agents' brainstorming. "Do I like it? I think it's a gut feeling they all have [that] is probably better than any group of computer statistics. And I'm a CPA saying that." That Tuesday, there's a sense of urgency. The house needs to be listed by Thursday. The open house is Sunday. "I know they want it in the eights," Wilson says later. "The end of the story will be what happens this weekend."  Later in the day, Wilson talks with the owners. She says she is open to a range of $819,000 to $829,000 but favors $819,000. The owners say they are thinking they want more than that. "I told them they need to think about it," Wilson said. "I didn't want them in any way, shape or form to feel that they were sorry they hadn't tried. I have no objection to 825. But anything over 830, I will object, but I certainly will do it. It's their house."