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Thread summary:

Home on market for 5 ½ months, realtor not being aggressive, seeking advice on how to get listing agent to sale home to interested buyers

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Old 01-16-2009, 01:07 PM
 
121 posts, read 413,321 times
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Hello,

My house has been on the market 5 1/2 months. We dropped our price after about a month, showings increased after that (surprise! ;-) ) We've had no offers though. However we've had at least 4 buyers see the house for at least the second time, and their agent tell ours that they "loved" the house, ours is the "top of their list", "best house they saw", etc. My listing agent passes that info onto me and that's it. Is there anything that she could do at that point to encourage an offer, or find out more details of why they aren't making one? Of course the buyer's agent isn't going to give any info that would hurt their client, but should my agent be trying to get more info? She seems to be rather passive and just sit and wait and see if they ever make an offer. Maybe...is that all she can do?

Thanks.
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Old 01-16-2009, 02:19 PM
 
Location: Salem, OR
15,494 posts, read 40,194,371 times
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Why don't you do a reverse offer? You write up an offer and give it to the buyers. See if they bite.
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Old 01-16-2009, 04:27 PM
 
Location: Just south of Denver since 1989
11,815 posts, read 34,276,866 times
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Drop the price. It's been 3.5 months since you have changed the price. Then ask your agent to call the 4 interested buyers with the new price.
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Old 01-16-2009, 05:41 PM
 
Location: Gorham, Maine
1,973 posts, read 5,197,706 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by futurecruiser View Post
Hello,

My house has been on the market 5 1/2 months. We dropped our price after about a month, showings increased after that (surprise! ;-) ) We've had no offers though. However we've had at least 4 buyers see the house for at least the second time, and their agent tell ours that they "loved" the house, ours is the "top of their list", "best house they saw", etc. My listing agent passes that info onto me and that's it. Is there anything that she could do at that point to encourage an offer, or find out more details of why they aren't making one? Of course the buyer's agent isn't going to give any info that would hurt their client, but should my agent be trying to get more info? She seems to be rather passive and just sit and wait and see if they ever make an offer. Maybe...is that all she can do?

Thanks.
Meet with your agent and look at your competition over the past few months, have any gone pending or sold? Is she updating your CMA on a regular basis? My guess is that your house is helping to sell your competition.
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Old 01-16-2009, 07:03 PM
 
121 posts, read 413,321 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by WhoFanMe View Post
Meet with your agent and look at your competition over the past few months, have any gone pending or sold? Is she updating your CMA on a regular basis? My guess is that your house is helping to sell your competition.
No, she hasn't updated the CMA at all. In NH, the market is very slow and in our town and the next town over (we share a school district) there's only been a handful of pendings/solds in the 250-350 range in the past 4-5 months....she has kept me posted on them. These people that said they love our house haven't bought another house, they just haven't bought anything. I guess my take is in this market you have to be a little aggressive, you can't just sit and wait for offers to fall on your lap. I spoke with the realtor that sold me our house in Maine, and they said that in this market the listing agent has to be proactive with the buyer's agents and find out basically (not to sound too used-car salesman) "how can we get you in this house today"? Find out what any objections are and overcome them if possible.

We are about to switch realtors (our contract expired) and will lower the price, though all 3 new realtors we interviewed didn't think our current price was out of line (with current CMAs), but it certainly would help to lower it. I guess I'm looking for a realtor that does more than stick a sign in the yard, stick it on MLS, and wait. I could have done that. In fact, we made our own website and marketing brochure for the house, after realizing she wasn't going to do much. (Yes, we should have interviewed more agents the first go around).
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Old 01-16-2009, 07:16 PM
 
315 posts, read 1,085,907 times
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One thing about realtors are that some will be eager to take on the listing but then sit back and let another agent do the work and sell the house. They won't make the whole commission but for some agents half the comission is good enough, some even have other jobs so this is gravy money for them.
Something else I've noticed is that people tend to do their own homework and really don't trust realtors any longer. There's a big increase on homes that are sold privately to save the comission fee so both parties gain. Might be it's time to let this agent go when the contract date is up.
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Old 01-17-2009, 08:19 AM
 
Location: Melbourne, FL
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Just from a different perspective. I have a buyer that has seen too many houses. (They sound like one of your propspective buyers.) Mine found 2 that they really like. They tell me they want to make an offer. I get the paperwork together and then they tell me they changed their mind because of.. this or that, etc... I got them to look at another house for the second time. Again, they like it, but...this/that or something. I sat them down and asked them was I showing them the wrong houses? what is it that isn't working for them? They couldn't give me an answer. The husband and wife are not on the same page. I sent them home and told them that I thought they needed to make some compromises between themselves. (he likes newer open plans, she likes older traditional homes). Being patient is key. Unfortunately some buyers think they can find the perfect house and that just isn't possible sometimes. I think my buyers are waiting for that perfect house. The 2 they liked sold. I now think they are getting the message. The listing agents have all been good to call and ask what can be done. All I can tell them, is they just aren't comfortable yet is making that offer. So sometimes, all you can do is wait. I'm sure one of them will come through.
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Old 01-17-2009, 11:39 AM
 
121 posts, read 413,321 times
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Thanks! I know this is a tough market for buyers agents as well.
A key sentence in your answer:

Quote:
Originally Posted by Janecj View Post
The listing agents have all been good to call and ask what can be done.
That's what I'm talking about. My agent didn't really do much of that.
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Old 01-17-2009, 11:47 AM
 
4,145 posts, read 10,389,061 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Silverfall View Post
Why don't you do a reverse offer? You write up an offer and give it to the buyers. See if they bite.
Yep. I've done this. Gotta think outside the box. It'll at least get their attention.
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Old 01-17-2009, 02:17 PM
 
Location: Barrington
63,919 posts, read 46,452,709 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by futurecruiser View Post

These people that said they love our house haven't bought another house, they just haven't bought anything. I guess my take is in this market you have to be a little aggressive, you can't just sit and wait for offers to fall on your lap. I spoke with the realtor that sold me our house in Maine, and they said that in this market the listing agent has to be proactive with the buyer's agents and find out basically (not to sound too used-car salesman) "how can we get you in this house today"? Find out what any objections are and overcome them if possible.
The buyers who loved your house and have yet to buy another, may have homes to sell. They might be afraid of taking on more debt. They might be or are about to lose their job. They might be waiting for the "perfect house". And they might be waiting for you to lower your price, further.

If I received such a call from a listing agent, I am inclined to perceive desperation, either the owner's or the agent's. If the buyers were remotely inclined to make an offer, I suspect they will make a low ball offer in response to the perceived desperation. And that low ball may be what it's going to take to get sold, in many areas.

Do you want to move or do you want your price?
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