Really, who is this guy who wants to "Give his house away"?

When the sellers' market is great, I seem to hear, "I'm not going to give my house away".  When the market is leaning over toward a buyers' market, I seem to hear "I'm not going to give my house away!"   I realize you may have an amount you were "told" that your next door neighbor sold his house for, or you went to an automated home valuation site,  or you have an appraisal from 6 years ago but there is an old saying that goes something like this, "Something is only worth what someone will pay for it."  "A nickel ain't worth a dime anymore." Yogi Berra   Let's face it--if you count the cost of holding on to it, does it outweigh the amount your losing off the asking price? 
Let's just say you have your house for sale for $100,000.  Your payment is $800 a month, plus add in the utilities--now you would be out about $850 a month until you get a contract and are sitting at the closing table.  Now let's say you get a $90,000 offer and you say, "I'm not going to give my house away!"  Well then, let's just ask this question--at $850 dollars a month how long will it be before you spend the $10,000 you were refusing to "give away"?  Looks to me to be about a year.  Some homes, especially those that are priced at the high end of the price range (the sellers who are trying to get "top dollar" for their home--and are the ones who often say "I'm not going to give my house away.") are sitting on the market for a really long time--often more than a year.

So now, consider-- is the market going up or down?  Now let's just say you go a few more months and you get a second offer for $85,000.  How good does that first offer look now? 

Look, I realize there are some people who are at the bottom of their price and/or owe more than it is worth, but that is not who we are talking about here.  I am also not encourging sellers to leave money on the table, but you really need to use strong SOLD comparable homes that sold with in the last six months to get the value of your home--after all, that is what the appraisers will use.  If you look at the numbers, you may find it would be a better deal in the long run to take the "bird in the hand rather than waiting for the two in the bush" because you still have to pay all the expenses associated with keeping the home up and in proper showing condition--which reduces your bottom line anyway along with extended frustration.  I know...harsh reality.  Just something to think about....

Grace and Peace....