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After having just one showing in the month since we listed the house, we met with the listing agent to see what her plan was. Her biggest suggestion was that if we drop the price of the house from $222.5k to under $220k it will make "all the difference in the world" and potential buyers will be lining up to see the house (southern NJ).
"Even if you price it at $219,999 it will make a huge difference."
This seems ridiculous to us.
Her logic is that more people stop at the $220k price range than then $225k price range...and that some people will not even consider a house even if it is just $3k over their target price.
For the record, this agent has been genuinely awful in the month since we listed the house with her.
For example, after a week of not seeing our house on Realtor.com or Zillow, etc, we questioned her. Oops! Her "assistant" forgot to add our house to the MLS.
She never communicates with us to keep us updated and relies heavily on text messages.
She showed up a few minutes late to the only showing we've had (wearing jeans) and I had to make painful small talk with the potential buyer and her agent.
On Friday I went to her website and discovered that our house was not listed in the 4 pages of Featured Listings on her site. When we questioned that - you guessed it - Oops! her assistant was supposed to have done that.
Time for a new agent?
Location: Foothills of Maryland Blue Ridge mountains
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Sounds like it. I’m not a pro but I’ve bought and sold a few houses....not a flipper. If it were me, 3k wouldn’t keep me from making an offer on your home say for 217k. That does sound silly. Especially since she said “they'd be lining up at the door.” What? A 3k difference will have them lining up?
I’m sure the pros on CD will chime in and I’ll be interested in their opinion. But on the face of it, your realtor doesn’t sound like she’s up to the task for whatever reason.
is this the same agent that helped you when you bought the home 2 years ago? If yes, it doesn't sound like you were too thrilled with her capabilities then. Did you interview other agents before choosing her to list your home?
After having just one showing in the month since we listed the house, we met with the listing agent to see what her plan was. Her biggest suggestion was that if we drop the price of the house from $222.5k to under $220k it will make "all the difference in the world" and potential buyers will be lining up to see the house (southern NJ).
"Even if you price it at $219,999 it will make a huge difference."
This seems ridiculous to us.
Her logic is that more people stop at the $220k price range than then $225k price range...and that some people will not even consider a house even if it is just $3k over their target price.
For the record, this agent has been genuinely awful in the month since we listed the house with her.
For example, after a week of not seeing our house on Realtor.com or Zillow, etc, we questioned her. Oops! Her "assistant" forgot to add our house to the MLS.
She never communicates with us to keep us updated and relies heavily on text messages.
She showed up a few minutes late to the only showing we've had (wearing jeans) and I had to make painful small talk with the potential buyer and her agent.
On Friday I went to her website and discovered that our house was not listed in the 4 pages of Featured Listings on her site. When we questioned that - you guessed it - Oops! her assistant was supposed to have done that.
Time for a new agent?
Yes get a new agent. I had the same issue with my parents house selling for $800k. We should have fired her immediately after she showed up late for our first open house. It was a nightmare after that. Move onto a another agent immediately.
Well, in the agents defense (and Im not saying keep her) you said she "relies heavily on text messages". You also say she never communicates. Texting is communicating.
I dont think she's saying that $3000 makes a huge difference, she is saying that people have set parameters when they are searching for a house online. Its like listing a house for $203,000 vs. $199,999. Not much difference, but the $199k brings in more people searching.
Funny, it is always the agent's fault. Never the condition or location of the property. Never the dog poop in the back yard, never the mess in the garage, never the catbox that reeks, and never the strategy that if you place your house in the right price parameter, your home will come up in a search every single time.
Funny, it is always the agent's fault. Never the condition or location of the property. Never the dog poop in the back yard, never the mess in the garage, never the catbox that reeks, and never the strategy that if you place your house in the right price parameter, your home will come up in a search every single time.
This agent appears to have made several critical errors. I don't think folks looking on the internet can see dog poop, a messy garage (lord I hope you wouldn't post a photo of it!), nor smell the catbox.
And whether things are the agent's fault or not, I find we almost always bear the brunt of responsibility. Goes with the territory.
This agent appears to have made several critical errors. I don't think folks looking on the internet can see dog poop, a messy garage (lord I hope you wouldn't post a photo of it!), nor smell the catbox.
And whether things are the agent's fault or not, I find we almost always bear the brunt of responsibility. Goes with the territory.
Ditto. It's the agent's job to tell the seller to correct those items or have the seller price the home accordingly. It isn't always the agents fault the home didn't sell but nobody forced the agent to take that listing at that price.
FWIW OP, 1 showing in 4 weeks (assuming it was on MLS all 4 weeks) is poor unless you're a very rural property. I would say you need more like a 20k price drop.
Time for a new agent. They're a dime a dozen these days. Find a good one that doesn't have so much on her plate that things, like listing your house on MLS, don't fall off her plate. Ridiculous. But what she says about the list parameters is sound advice. In the grand scheme of things, what's 3k if you can get more eyes on the house and/or sell your house faster?
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