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I guess I'm bit jaded because I realize that agent isn't looking out for me, he or she is looking out for the seller. I am one of those people who back off if someone gets too pushy, even if it's not to my benefit in that I miss out on a great house. I suspect there are others like me out there.
A sales coach, author of a few boks & a website I frequent, says that people HATE to be sold, but love to be put in a situatuation that makes it really comfortable to buy. I always remember that when I take those calls, and try to never be "pushy".
And while the buyer and the sellers agent may be "at opposite ends", the more important thing to remember is that they are both trying to get to the same place. I can show you how to get there. I have maps.
Again, you have no idea if myself and my wife driving around a neighborhood are are serious buyers or not.
Example: We pass a "For Sale" sign. We stop (if we can) and ohh and ahh at the property. "Sorry dear, it's probably out of our price range. Let's keep going": There is no flyer box. Just a sign with a phone number. Why waste our time. Truth be told that the property IS within our price range but we have no way of knowing that.
I still have not heard why not ?
The marketing of a property needs to appeal to the masses.
If posting a price on the sign proved to me a good marketing tool it would have become common place.
You say that it would be useful to you but even though a property is only bought by one party the marketing needs to look at the prospective buyers as a whole.
A sales coach, author of a few boks & a website I frequent, says that people HATE to be sold, but love to be put in a situatuation that makes it really comfortable to buy. I always remember that when I take those calls, and try to never be "pushy".
And while the buyer and the sellers agent may be "at opposite ends", the more important thing to remember is that they are both trying to get to the same place. I can show you how to get there. I have maps.
Fair enough! You are probably very successful at what you do
I think the worst thing about this thread is that it's making me feel old. A million years ago, when I first got into Real Estate, most agents in my area had been putting the prices on their signs. It was about this time that the flyer was created and we stopped putting the price on the signs. Why did we stop?
1) Complaints from homeowners in a neighborhood. Since no two houses are the same they would complain that putting the price on a sign made it look like all the homes in the neighborhood would sell for that and it was always too high or too low.
2) Once we stopped putting the price on sign, the phones rang more often. They ring even more often now that people have cell phones with them in their cars. When the phones ring more often we have more potential buyers. Seasoned agents will tell you that no one buys the house they called on. It's never that simple. Buying a home is a far more complicated emotional and intellectual process.
3) Although prices didn’t change as often back then, it could get expensive changing the price on the sign.
4) No matter what kind of market, the “price” is a listed price. Putting a price on a sign is like creating a price tag. People complained, sellers and buyers, because everything in Real Estate is negotiable, including the price.
If you're too lazy to even get out to pick up a flyer, you're not a serious buyer. If you were serious, you'd get a buyer's agent to pull you homes in your price range and send them to you.
Again, you have no idea if I'm a serious buyer. I will tell you this. I would not use a buyer's agent and I'm sure there are many buyers who won't pay the fee associated with a buyer's agent.
In no way does posting the price of a home on the sign benefit my seller more than it hurts them. I may gain one or two showings to someone like you, but MANY more will drive by and make an assumption without knowing a thing about the house
Have you tried it and if so, what was the result.
If you're too lazy to get a flyer out of the box, yes, I know that you're not a serious buyer. If you're motivated to buy the house, you'll call and ask about it. I've been doing this a while and have been successful at it. Our job is to sell the house. Not appease those that drive by and are nosy.
And if you really had a clue, you'd realize that WE as listing agents pay the buyer agent's commission. If you come to me without a buyer agent, I'd almost guarantee that not only will you not get the 3% off the price of the house, but you'll end up paying way more than if you had someone negotiating for you that knew what they were doing.
You seem to be on here trying to tell experienced and talented agents how to better do their job, but I'm not seeing why you're getting worked up over it. Many have said it won't work, but that's not good enough for you for some reason. Why is that?
This is exactly the attitude that gets agents into trouble in this market: Refusal to think outside the box. How the heck do you know if I'm a serous buyer ? Are you willing to take that chance ? Maybe I can't stop and pick up a flyer because the property is on a no-stopping street or I have a big truck that's gonna run up my tailpipe if I stop.
Because if you're a serious buyer and you have a legit interest, you will make an effort to find out price. It doesn't matter if it's pulling a flier or looking up the address at home.
I have no problem picking up a flyer provided:
1) I can stop my car on the street
2) There is a flyer box
3) There are flyers in the box.
Again, you are making the assumption that if I don't pick up a flyer, I'm not a serious buyer. Can you be sure of that ? Don't you need every possible prospect ?
The above poster has given me reasons as to why flyers are useful and I agree they are but not reasons as to why posting the price won't work as an additional marketing tool. If no one has tried it extensively, how can they know it will be won't work.
An agents job is to generate buyer leads for the seller (marketing). If an agent does something that does not generate a lead for a seller that is poor marketing. If the buyer drives by and makes a snap judgment based on a price on a sign, that marketing isn't working because it did not generate a lead for the seller. I would think sellers wouldn't want to market in a way that doesn't generate a lead either, such as painting price on a sign. Of course, that's not practical anyway. It would take more time to paint the sign, if there are price adjustments it's more painting. It's not practical for lots of reasons.
I still maintain, however, serious buyers will get the flier or go home and look up the address. Of course, most buyers are working with agents and the agent will find the house on MLS anyway...
I'm just going to say that I am amazed at how many 'seasoned, experienced' agents are talking in absolutes. "creating a price tag" is an interesting comment...putting a price on a sign in front of the property is no more creating a price tag than the price tag you created in the MLS or newspaper ad.
You do not generally cultivate leads for the seller you cultivate or generate leads for yourself. What will work for one buyer may very well not work for another buyer. To be calling potential buyers 'lazy' because they won't do the 'work' of stopping and pulling a flyer out of the box is absurd. I certainly am not lazy and as a buyer I wouldn't do it. So, that goes out the window. To say 'their agent' will pull it out of the mls, not every buyer works with an agent. To insist that you'll get a better price for your seller from someone who doesn't have an agent totally ignores those buyers who are experienced and knowlegeable about the process and what properties are worth. To think that those who 'make the call' are more motivated than anyone else is ridiculous. Are you thinking that just because I make a quick convenient call from my cell phone in the car that I'm more motivated and not just 'nosey'?
A lot of you sure do cut off quite a few people that you could be appealing to and reaching. But, hey. If that's what your experience tells you to do and you feel it's necessary to put down or insult people who think a little bit outside of your box I guess that's what you're going to do.
I'm just going to say that I am amazed at how many 'seasoned, experienced' agents are talking in absolutes. "creating a price tag" is an interesting comment...putting a price on a sign in front of the property is no more creating a price tag than the price tag you created in the MLS or newspaper ad.
You do not generally cultivate leads for the seller you cultivate or generate leads for yourself. What will work for one buyer may very well not work for another buyer. To be calling potential buyers 'lazy' because they won't do the 'work' of stopping and pulling a flyer out of the box is absurd. I certainly am not lazy and as a buyer I wouldn't do it. So, that goes out the window. To say 'their agent' will pull it out of the mls, not every buyer works with an agent. To insist that you'll get a better price for your seller from someone who doesn't have an agent totally ignores those buyers who are experienced and knowlegeable about the process and what properties are worth. To think that those who 'make the call' are more motivated than anyone else is ridiculous. Are you thinking that just because I make a quick convenient call from my cell phone in the car that I'm more motivated and not just 'nosey'?
A lot of you sure do cut off quite a few people that you could be appealing to and reaching. But, hey. If that's what your experience tells you to do and you feel it's necessary to put down or insult people who think a little bit outside of your box I guess that's what you're going to do.
Gotta say, I have seriously considered the price on the sign approach.
What do I care if drive-by guy disses the whole neighborhood based on a listing, unless I have several homes listed in the neighborhood?
We all do lots of stuff that doesn't bring a lead, but helps sway the Seller in our listing presentations.
If it makes me stand out, and my listings stand out, that uniqueness may well be beneficial to my clients. That would be compelling reason enough to consider the approach.
I have had neighbors who didn't pull flyers ask me what the list price is. They well may have friends/family with interest, if the price slaps them in the face.
The cost and inconvenience of multiple riders and changing riders out is not a compelling negative factor to me. If the cost of doing business is a factor, I can charge more for the job. The business is SERVICE, and periodic minor inconvenience is a cost of service, IMO.
Now, it may be argued that the listing agent cannot capture the leads if the leads don't call. But the prospective serious buyer who doesn't call based on price is likely not a client for that property.
And if the prospect is in a $200,000 price range, what is the value to the property owner for the listing agent to capture that lead if the house is priced at $350,000? What are the odds of upselling a $200,000 buyer into a $350,000 home?
Or is that lead capture effort focused on agent success in building a database rather than client success in selling the subject property?
To again address the OP's question, Yes, it would work to let the public know the price. I don't know if it would work to serve the client in moving their home quicker.
But, the next time I take a listing that is priced low for the neighborhood, I may just broach the topic with the Sellers regarding their willingness to try it out.
Mike, (and OP) I agree with a lot of what you said. I don't care if the buyer calls me or not when it comes down to it. My goal is always the same as the sellers - sell it for as much as possible in the least amount of time. I don't care how it happens so long as it happens. If I had a seller that wanted the price advertised on the sign I'm willing to do it. I don't think enough leads would be gained or lost on something like that to make a difference. I'd much rather do that than say, open houses every weekend (unless they stock the fridge w/ cool beverages for me and 44" HDTV for the NFL games;-)
However, I simply don't think it's practical in the manner suggested. If there is well priced home, perhaps an attention getter such as the price, or a more generic "Great Deal" rider could work.
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