I think we can all agree that pretty much anywhere in the nation, it’s harder to sell a house today than it was just one year ago and especially two years ago.  You’ve heard the reasons a million times by now – the bubble has finally burst, subprime meltdown means fewer and fewer qualified buyers, more homes on the market than ever with more desperate sellers, and so on.

Yep, for some reason, it’s just not as much fun trying to sell in a down market.  In fact, the devious notion is actually leaving many sellers reeling through the stages of grief.

Remember Elisabeth Kubler-Ross’s five stages of grief from the college intro to psychology class you unintentionally slept through?  Don’t worry, I don’t remember the exact details either, but I do remember the broad concept.  Anyway, I recently ran across a somewhat funny but actually all too serious post by Phil Hoover over at the Boise Real Estate Blog satirizing those five stages.

Let’s review the highlights of Hoover’s post, “The Five Stages Of Seller Grief.”

1. First, there’s denial.  I mean, there’s no problem with the market.  My house is awesome and will sell as soon as it’s listed, right?  Or as Hoover writes, “Geez ~ that first Realtor® I spoke with about listing my home sure was negative!”
2. Then the anger sets in.  It’s everybody else’s fault my house isn’t selling as quickly as I’d like.  My home is better than the rest and I can’t believe those dumb buyers don’t realize it!
3. After the anger subsides, we try to bargain – with ourselves and with our buyers.  Lowering the price suddenly seems like a great idea.  And while I’m at it, I might even consider looking at any offers presented, no matter how low they go.
4. When that still doesn’t do the trick, depression hits hard.  Yes, we push our selling woes under the rug and pretend nothing’s even wrong.  After all, I might not ever be able to sell anyway.  Poor me.
5. Finally after moping long enough, the stage of acceptance offers redemption.  Or as Hoover says, “I am ready to swallow my pride and take a lower offer than the one I refused six months ago.”  Let’s take the advice and get this thing sold already!

Chances are, if your property doesn’t move right away, you’ll be able to really identify with these steps soon, so be sure to check out the post and review them in full.  Again, they’re a bit silly, but nonetheless all too true.  Appreciate the steps and you might be able to avoid them completely by just skipping straight to the end – just lower the price right from the get go and you’ll save yourself lots of grief – literally.

The joys of selling in a declining market!