Amazingly, a couple of the Realtors
have come up with prices that are lower than you expected. Although they back up
their recommendations with recent sales data of similar homes, you remain
convinced your house is worth more.
When you interview the third agent’s figures,
they are much more in line with your own anticipated value, or maybe even
higher. Suddenly, you are a happy and excited home seller, already counting the
money.
A Sales Practice Called "Buying a
Listing"
If you’re like many people, you pick Realtor
number three. This is an agent who seems willing to listen to your input and
work with you. This is an agent that cares about putting the most money in your
pocket. This is an agent that is willing to start out at your price and if you
need to drop the price later, you can do that easily, right?
After all, everyone else does it!
The truth is that you may have just met an agent
engaging in a questionable sales practice called "buying a listing."
He "bought" the listing by suggesting you might be able to get a
higher sales price than the other agents recommended. Most likely, he is quite
doubtful that your home will actually sell at that price. The intention from the
beginning is to eventually talk you into lowering the price.
Why do some agents "buy" listings this
way?
There are basically two reasons. A well-meaning
and hard working agent can feel pressure from a homeowner who has an inflated
perception of his home’s value. On the other hand, there are some agents who
engage in this sales practice routinely.
What Happens Behind the Scenes
If you start out with too high a price on your
home, you may have just added to your stress level -- and selling a home is
stressful enough. There will be a lot of "behind the scenes" action
taking place that you don’t know about.
Contrary to popular opinion, the listing agent
does not usually attempt to sell your home directly to a homebuyer. That would
be inefficient.
Listing agents market and promote your home to
the hordes of other local agents who do work with homebuyers, dramatically
increasing your personal sales force. During the first couple of weeks your home
should be a flurry of activity with buyer’s agents coming to preview your home
so they can sell it to their clients.
If the price is right.
If you and your agent have overpriced, fewer
agents will preview your home. After all, they are Realtors, and it is their job
to know local market conditions and home values. If your house is dramatically
above market, why waste time? Their time is better spent previewing homes that
are priced realistically.
One should consult with a qualified real estate
professional prior to implementing any real estate strategies.
If you are a tax, insurance, financial or
insurance planning professional receiving this newsletter, please call our
office and introduce yourself to us. We are always seeking to grow our referral
network and expose more service professionals to our client base.
