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Just to toss the other viewpoint out there, since the Brokerage firm gets at most 6% of the sale price and the Realtor himself, a small part of that, the sale price one way or another is of little consequence. Since there are fixed costs for them in representing a house as well as ongoing marginal costs every week or day that the house is on the market, you could definitely argue that a Realtor's best interest is always served by selling as fast as possible. In most cases, the seller's best interest is more related to pricing than to time to sell (but not always of course). In realty most if not all Realtors want to help their clients as much as possible.
This is basically true. I don't care what a listing sells at from a commission standpoint. I don't even calculate it or care about it. I just want my seller to have success and achieve their goal, and I want that to happen in a short timeframe. Being on the market is unnatural and stressful. There is no need to prolong it. Especially since the best result - the highest price and the best buyer selection pool - happens right at the beginning of the listing period. But that advantage accrues only to sellers and agents who are ready, willing, and able to leverage the edge while they have it. Many sellers are not, and choose a counterproductive path based on emotions and irrationality, if not downright mysticism. I've had sellers actually bury statues in their yards. Honestly believing that such a procedure would have a positive effect. It's really unbelievable how some people behave when it is time to sell the house. And not in a good way.
-$50,000 reduction to home seller= - $3000 commission reduction if you are both buyer and seller agents -$50,000 reduction = $1500 commission if you only have seller. in some cases buyer's agents get bigger % so what does a seller's agent care if you reduce your price by $50,000.
Marc there's plenty of names for people like you but i won't reduce myself to your level. you said all agents reluctantly list whatever the seller says to despite the fact that the OP said the price she listed was per her agent's advice. you threw your piers under the bus. so you bullied the OP and told her that her agent is afraid of her. and you cowardly said you do the same thing as an agent. you recommend to your clients what to list at to make them happy and allow other people on a forum to bash you saying it's priced too high. you should reduce don't listen to your agent. i'm sure all of your clients are on here saying how they hate their agent and can't wait to get out of their contract (prison) with you.sounds hypocritical to me. Lucky? what planet on you on? i'd love to know your book $ of sold homes?
If nothing is selling, nothing is selling. I've reduced the price twice now. People are not buying. There is a time where I wish you posters who self identify as realtors will admit that maybe the mini bubble is fading rather than posting the same crap about PRICE PRICE PRICE (and to be honest Marc, you have no credibility with me after your 5 minute to prepare a home remark - it shows you have no concept of what I have had go through to be competitive in this market).
When nothing is selling within your zip code, plus or minus $200k of your asking price, it's time for realtor types to admit that maybe it does not make sense to keep reducing price by several thousands of dollars every 2 weeks so you can make money on a sale based on seller fear and desperation. Pushing for biweekly price reductions when a seller can afford to carry the home for awhile does not indicate to me that you are a realtor who has his clients' best interests in mind.
This is not meant for all realtors, I know there have been a couple on this thread that have given me good advice. Even my realtor, who I'm not a big fan of, has been the voice of reason around the realtors of the market.
I'm definitely not a big fan of how most agents operate, but question your reasoning on price reductions. I believe you are correct that the mini/echo bubble is starting collapse in many parts of the country. If you and I are correct, are you prepared to carry the property for however many years it takes the market to come back again? If nothing is selling within your price range, it simply means no sellers have priced at current market value, the only way you will come out ahead by waiting is if the market snaps back quickly. If this was indeed another bubble it's not going to snap back quickly and there is a fair chance the market lows will be tested again over the next few years. It seems to me since you have relocated and need to get out from under this liability that you would be better off being the 1st seller to discover market value, you are likely to get more now than at a later date in the near future. The 1st seller doesn't chase as far down as subsequent sellers do in a declining market.
-$50,000 reduction to home seller= - $3000 commission reduction if you are both buyer and seller agents -$50,000 reduction = $1500 commission if you only have seller. in some cases buyer's agents get bigger % so what does a seller's agent care if you reduce your price by $50,000.
Marc there's plenty of names for people like you but i won't reduce myself to your level. you said all agents reluctantly list whatever the seller says to despite the fact that the OP said the price she listed was per her agent's advice. you threw your piers under the bus. so you bullied the OP and told her that her agent is afraid of her. and you cowardly said you do the same thing as an agent. you recommend to your clients what to list at to make them happy and allow other people on a forum to bash you saying it's priced too high. you should reduce don't listen to your agent. i'm sure all of your clients are on here saying how they hate their agent and can't wait to get out of their contract (prison) with you.sounds hypocritical to me. Lucky? what planet on you on? i'd love to know your book $ of sold homes?
I believe Marc is being brutally honest about how the real estate business works. Many do not want honesty/tough love be they sellers, buyers or agents, especially sellers and agents. Many sellers think they are sitting on pot of gold when it is a pot of silver at best and quite often, a pot of clay.
I am dealing with this myself. My realtor keeps repeating that my area is NOT SELLING quickly. He lives in my neighborhood, has for years, and deals with houses near me all the time. I have already lowered my price 5 times and am price substantially UNDER the price per square foot price other homes in the area have sold for recently. Homes in this area do sell, eventually. I want to sell/move, yet I am not going to GIVE the place away just for the sake of getting it to sell. That makes no sense.
Now, if I wanted to slash my home by 50%, sure it would sell IMMEDIATELY. Everything in the world will eventually sell at the right price. But not every neighborhood is the same. I think my realtor told me the average time on the market for my metro area is something like 115-120 days. My specific corner of the metro, longer.
Your exchange with Marc illustrates the sometimes conflicting motivations between seller and agent. For an agent, a quick sale is a big advantage, even if the price is knocked down a bit. He/she can collect his/her commission and move on to other properties. Sometimes a seller may NEED to move the house with similar urgency, for a relocation, for example. Then the seller's and agent's goals will be aligned. OTOH, a seller who has a lot invested in a property and is not under immediate pressure to move will probably have a minimum acceptable price, because otherwise the loss that would be borne is perceived as being too great. If the market doesn't support that price, then the seller will either stay put or rent out the property. It sounds like this is your situation (it's also mine). After an encouraging burst of brisk sales earlier this year, the RE market in my area has dropped off significantly, reflected in both lower asking and sales prices and longer DOM. I've taken my place off the market and rented it.
BTW, when looking at average/median DOM I also like to look at the trend -- shorter DOMs at the beginning of a market slowdown are going to offset more recent sales with longer DOMs that may give a truer picture of current market conditions.
i just don't get how agents quickly respond to every post regardless of demographics/situaiton and say, " if it doesn't sell in the first weeks, it's priced too high" let the "market" (as if that's some kind of guru) speak to you. Well guess what? this is not a "market" this is a home, a realllllly big investment to BOTH buyers and sellers. it is not just sellers emotions involved but also buyers, and if buyers don't "feel it" they don't feel it at any price. with the internet and so many websites focused on RE, buyers know what they are looking at that day, and sellers know what their competition is. why do agents think that every home is priced too high? of course i'm working WITH not against, an agent and we carefully go over everything, comps, sold comps, issues with the house, area etc.... What is an agent's attachment; sell it quick job done and get paid. as i expressed above, a commission is reduced fractionally by a reduction in price. i am not in a hurry, my house is priced right, and i will wait until it sells where both buyer and seller mutually agree. There are plenty of people that are willing to pay what you are asking and above, but they just may not like a particular house for a different reason. that's why some people pay a lot of money for house if they can, because sometimes it really is about the HOUSE not the money.....
Gosh Golly Marc, not everyone is as dumb and desperate as you'd have your clients believe.....
i just don't get how agents quickly respond to every post regardless of demographics/situaiton and say, " if it doesn't sell in the first weeks, it's priced too high" let the "market" (as if that's some kind of guru) speak to you. Well guess what? this is not a "market" this is a home, a realllllly big investment to BOTH buyers and sellers. it is not just sellers emotions involved but also buyers, and if buyers don't "feel it" they don't feel it at any price. with the internet and so many websites focused on RE, buyers know what they are looking at that day, and sellers know what their competition is. why do agents think that every home is priced too high? of course i'm working WITH not against, an agent and we carefully go over everything, comps, sold comps, issues with the house, area etc.... What is an agent's attachment; sell it quick job done and get paid. as i expressed above, a commission is reduced fractionally by a reduction in price. i am not in a hurry, my house is priced right, and i will wait until it sells where both buyer and seller mutually agree. There are plenty of people that are willing to pay what you are asking and above, but they just may not like a particular house for a different reason. that's why some people pay a lot of money for house if they can, because sometimes it really is about the HOUSE not the money.....
Gosh Golly Marc, not everyone is as dumb and desperate as you'd have your clients believe.....
"The market" is an economics concept. It applies to everything bought and sold. Not everyone understands it.
You also should review the CD Terms of Service about argumentative posts.
Your exchange with Marc illustrates the sometimes conflicting motivations between seller and agent. For an agent, a quick sale is a big advantage, even if the price is knocked down a bit. He/she can collect his/her commission and move on to other properties. Sometimes a seller may NEED to move the house with similar urgency, for a relocation, for example. Then the seller's and agent's goals will be aligned. OTOH, a seller who has a lot invested in a property and is not under immediate pressure to move will probably have a minimum acceptable price, because otherwise the loss that would be borne is perceived as being too great. If the market doesn't support that price, then the seller will either stay put or rent out the property. It sounds like this is your situation (it's also mine). After an encouraging burst of brisk sales earlier this year, the RE market in my area has dropped off significantly, reflected in both lower asking and sales prices and longer DOM. I've taken my place off the market and rented it.
And that's exactly it. I am sensitive to the fact that the agent doesn't make money until I sell my home, which is why it is important for both parties to establish at the beginning of the relationship the long-term strategy. I am in the position where I can afford to carry my house. I'd really prefer not to. It's no longer my home, just a house, and I'd like to move on. But I'm not going to cut the price by 15-20% just to get a quick sale if there is a potential that the market can rebound. And for all the faults I have with my agent, he actually understands and respects this. If he didn't, I would not have entered into business with him. If anything, he pointed out when I requested a price reduction that I was deviating from the strategy that I had setup, which was to wait it out for the right buyer.
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