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Have to disagree. You don't want to be training an idiot that's repping you on such a large investment. You don't want the idiot involved at all. There's plenty of good, smart agents out there that consumers should interview until they find one.
I agree, too. Unless you're a seasoned veteran in the industry who can properly lead the charge on all facets of the deal. However, at that point, you'd have to wonder what you're actually paying the realtor for.
On the good news front, we received some really positive feedback yesterday on our home from a potential buyer. They were inches away from an offer. They opted for a feature we could not offer them instead. Hopefully we get some better news this weekend.
2 - The house was on the market only 20 days + 1 open house now the realtor is pushing to lower price by >$50k from the price they originally recommended. This seems too soon to me, especially given the original open house took place Labor Day weekend.
3. There have been around 12 showings and 1 potential buyer who backed out. Realtor says this is bad, ergo we need to lower the price.
Unless your house is at or above the $1.5 Million mark or so, a right off the bat $50K price drop seems like a very big drop to me and makes me think the realtor had no idea what s/he was doing when they offered their opinion about what to initially list the house at.. Overpricing at the get-go is a big mistake because that's going to add to days on market and will make the listing go stale quicker, and lead people to wonder what's wrong with it.
Unless your house is at or above the $1.5 Million mark or so, a right off the bat $50K price drop seems like a very big drop to me and makes me think the realtor had no idea what s/he was doing when they offered their opinion about what to initially list the house at.. Overpricing at the get-go is a big mistake because that's going to add to days on market and will make the listing go stale quicker, and lead people to wonder what's wrong with it.
My house is below 1.5M, so the reduction is pretty significant - about 6% of the sale price off the bat. What I didn't feel comfortable with was the realtor immediately suggesting a $50K price reduction with only 1 open house on a holiday weekend where people tend to go out of town before school starts and under a month on the market. I feel like it's too soon and they are trying to take the path of least resistance vs. further marketing of the property. We haven't even gotten the local ad placed in the paper yet so it just seems ... soon? That said, I'm a first time seller so maybe all this is totally normal.
On the good news front, we received some really positive feedback yesterday on our home from a potential buyer. They were inches away from an offer. They opted for a feature we could not offer them instead. Hopefully we get some better news this weekend.
That's good news! Sounds like there are folks interested in the house at the price you've listed.
I would ignore the earlier poster's unreasonable decorating opinions, especially if you've had a professional stager take a look already. Some RE agents can be terrible. We had one agent over for a listing presentation who basically verbally trashed our house for the entire hour he visited and then wanted us to have him represent the sale (?!) It was just really unprofessional and frankly weird behavior.
Thank you, Brandon Hoffman, for your insights. I appreciate what you're saying, and it does take some of the edge off.
One thing that particularly has stood out about his marketing strategy is his extreme focus on open houses. A quick Google search will produce tons of industry articles arguing that open houses generally work best for the listing agent, not the seller or their home. Here's just one quick read on that topic: https://www.homelight.com/blog/are-o...uses-worth-it/. We've had one, now he wants another. And our take on this is that the young, savvy people who are going to be seriously interested in our home are going to have already viewed it a bunch of times on Zillow, Redfin, or other online shopping sites. We believe that open houses are a dated selling tool, and they aren't particularly drawing people to our community, which is not in a dense residential area. It's actually a bit hidden, which is part of its draw for some. We think the marketing tools need to be more savvy, more focused in on a specific demographic who will be interested in our home.
We've worked with him a couple of times, but we both had the benefit of a hot market a couple years ago. People were throwing "the whole farm" and more to get into your property, and most properties priced well were off the market in days, not weeks. We are concerned that he may not be as effective in a slower market. I've read up a lot on the post and pray realtor type (https://www.maxrealestateexposure.co...-pray-realtor/), and I'm a little worried this may be his forte.
At any rate, you're correct about not worrying about what is out of our control. We are going to re-assess after this weekend what we wish to do going forward, whether it's with him or someone else.
Did he have an agent open house? Or put it on the agent tour? This is one of the biggest selling tools because it gets lots of agents in there to see and know what your house is like so they can recommend a private showing to their clients. Open houses are great for the seller. You clean the house once, clear yourselves and pet out of the house once, and hopefully get a serious buyer out of the open house. They may want to come back and do a second look, but at least you've got a fish on. Be patient, one week is really a short time.
Did he have an agent open house? Or put it on the agent tour? This is one of the biggest selling tools because it gets lots of agents in there to see and know what your house is like so they can recommend a private showing to their clients. Open houses are great for the seller. You clean the house once, clear yourselves and pet out of the house once, and hopefully get a serious buyer out of the open house. They may want to come back and do a second look, but at least you've got a fish on. Be patient, one week is really a short time.
Not an agent open house that I'm aware of. I think it was a general open house to the public.
We did have some interested parties that came back, but ultimately they were swayed by factors out of our control. Similarly, we had an interested buyer as of yesterday, but wanted something that our place did not offer.
You're correct, a week is not really a long time. We're getting used to a new marketplace. Our last place sold in less than a week.
We had our house on the market for 3 months once, and pulled it off the market after zero offers. Same house, one year later sold for full asking (same price as before) in 5 days. It's just a matter of getting the right buyer in your home. And an open house is an opportunity to get a bunch in at one time. Much more time efficient. Ask your realtor to put your house on the agent tour ASAP. Should be done as soon as it's listed. Get those agents in there to see it and it will be on their minds when they have a client who wants what your place offers.
My house is below 1.5M, so the reduction is pretty significant - about 6% of the sale price off the bat. What I didn't feel comfortable with was the realtor immediately suggesting a $50K price reduction with only 1 open house on a holiday weekend where people tend to go out of town before school starts and under a month on the market. I feel like it's too soon and they are trying to take the path of least resistance vs. further marketing of the property. We haven't even gotten the local ad placed in the paper yet so it just seems ... soon? That said, I'm a first time seller so maybe all this is totally normal.
here's an issue - expectations and communication - an issue common in this topic.
For all, presumably the agent showed you some comps (and the other agents showed you some comps).
Please understand by nature - to clients' benefits - we are optimists. we are fortune tellers. we are trying to predict 30-90 days from now, not 60 days to 6 months ago. And we also want to meet our clients needs.
"I want to sell for the most possible." is understandably what we EXPECT the Sellers want. But it is incumbent upon us to ASK. Some Sellers - like the OP - want the FASTEST sale.
Highest price comps and fastest selling comps are sometimes different homes. Or, to compare your home to either has to occur. "We want top dollar" = "we're willing to spend money to get the condition 'perfect'". "We want to sell quickly" = "what did similar homes that did sell quickly do?" and "is there a seasonality or inventory difference from then to now" AND "what is our competition, and how do we price to entice someone to buy US over THEM"
When there's enough activity for a reasonable # of comps, and the ability to see seasonal trends, then your agent should be able to compare the season you're selling in to recent year(s) season.
And your agent should always be able to say "Here's how long we should expect it to take to sell"
"I want to sell for the most possible." is understandably what we EXPECT the Sellers want. But it is incumbent upon us to ASK. Some Sellers - like the OP - want the FASTEST sale.
Good point. This wouldn't have mattered as much to us if we weren't under contract on another home. And that was actually our agent's suggestion. We're only concerned that we won't meet their deadlines. So yes, we've been antsier than usual.
Fortunately, from a recent communication, it does seem like they are flexible and happy with our transaction. It's really a case of good timing for either of us. They need us as much as we want their home.
a well staged, well lit, well photographed and videotaped home will drive all the customers you want to see. Even with all this, if it's way overpriced (15-20 k over market) will get overlooked, or get you offers you are not ready to accept. once you do all this, then appointments will confirm the quality of the home and seal the deal.
I would only sign with a broker for a max of 90 days, preferably 60.
Salesmen don't sell your home, they just (hopefully) help maneuver the paperwork and keep track of a speedy closing. I've never found a salesman to be helpful actually driving in customers. The internet does that.
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