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Price is King (Elvis Has Left the Building)

By
Real Estate Broker/Owner with Lockwood Real Estate

This is a tale for sellers, about a land where Price is King.

It stretches from San Diego to New York, but also includes Alaska and Hawaii, as well as the parts of the Earth not in the United States.  It also includes other planets.

Price is King.

I don't always tell you this so outright and so clearly, especially not on my local Sacramento Blog, because I want your focus to be on the difference between me and the other agent when it comes to marketing.  Because you're going to hire me or not, maybe, on the strength of my marketing plan.  Or on my reputation.  Or on some intangible.

Or maybe you'll hire someone who lies to you about price.  That happens a lot, because I don't lie, and Price is King.

But whoever you hire, and however you get to your decision, and whatever you do, how far you run, how high you jump, here's the thing: Price is King. 

Here, I will prove it to you.  Do you have a property with an assessor's parcel number?  Send me a disclosure packet and if I don't see anything Hugely Frightening and needing to be cleaned up to talk me out of it, I'll close on it tomorrow for five dollars.

"Oh, but that's ridiculous?  My house is worth $1.5 million dollars!!!!"

How interesting.  Then what are you selling it to me for five dollars for?

Now look:  if you've had this allegedly $1.5 million dollar home on the market for six months or more at $1.5 million dollars and it hasn't sold, maybe the market is trying to tell you something.  OK, granted, five dollars is silly, but somewhere between 1.5 megabucks and five bucks, your home will sell to someone, because Price is King.

Come see me when your listing expires.  I'll work hard to earn your listing, because that's what I do.  And I'll market the Internet tar out of it for you.  And if you don't trust me enough to lower your price when I ask you to, it'll expire again.  Because Price is King.

Price is King, and he doesn't care what you paid, or what you owe, or how much you've estimated you need for the home you want.  He doesn't care what car you drive, and he doesn't care what car your listing agent drives.  Price looks at you from his lofty throne as though you were a peasant, and you can glance on his indifferent face in terror, and you can cry about it and get mad at me for telling you, and you can go tell your neighbor what an idiot I am and you know what?  You're right!  I'm an idiot.

But Price is still King.

Comments (20)

William Johnson
Retired - La Jolla, CA
Retired
Good Post John, I don't fully agree with you but I get your point and appreciate that it has more truth than fiction. There are some people though that still trust us and know we will always do our job to produce for them, correct pricing and all.
Jun 20, 2007 06:22 PM
Sandra Williams
Rancon Real Estate - Temecula, CA
We Californians truly know that "Price in King!" It is interesting that folks want to try anything, different agents, different marketing, different  - rather than admitting the price is the problem. Sellers always set their prices at the highest price they have heard from their areas! Today a home will not sell if they insist in hanging one to yesterday's prices.flyers
Jun 20, 2007 06:32 PM
John Lockwood
Lockwood Real Estate - Sacramento, CA

Thanks gang.  I'm not saying that, given a price within that range where King Price might smile on you, there's not some considerable good/harm an agent can do.   Still, as an overall thing, the sellers who I've succeded for are those who let me.  That goes to William's point, I guess.

Yes, Sandra, I agree.  Not only can we not hang on to yesterday's price, but in an environment of falling prices, I've found that we can't even always get today's.  One of my sellers is happy to be getting about $250,000 when we both agreed a year ago that $320,000 was a fair and correct price.  If I'd told him $300,000 then and gotten it done for him, he'd be $50,000 ahead, but I guess hindsight is 20/20.  With the inventory we have in his area, we're only getting $250,000 now because the comps say $270,000.

Jun 20, 2007 06:46 PM
Craig Schiller
Trempealeau, WI

As a stager I tell people then do NOT need our services... price will ALWAYS trump all else.

Price can EVEN resolve a location issue! BUT to MAXIMIZE the price... that is where we come in. Most people want the MAX, and I don't blame them.

But that takes some work... and that is where we can help.

Me

 

Jun 21, 2007 12:20 AM
Robert Hammerstein -
Christie's International Real Estate - Hillsdale, NJ
Bergen County NJ Real Estate

Hi John,

Love the lead-in to this post and agree two fold with the point you're making here.  Added you as an Associate because I like the way you think!

 

Lisa

Jun 21, 2007 01:39 AM
Cindy Jones
Integrity Real Estate Group - Woodbridge, VA
Pentagon, Fort Belvoir & Quantico Real Estate News
Yes price is king.  Sometimes convincing sellers of that fact is tough.  I've tried through various articles on AR and other places to make that point clear to my sellers that in our current market you can't play the wait and see game.  Following the market down is not a good pricing strategy.
Jun 21, 2007 02:07 AM
Leo Namiot - LeoLends.com
Canopy Mortgage - Leo Namiot - Saint Augustine, FL
More than just great rates

Great post, this is the exact reason why houses sit on the market, when a RE agent goes to a listing interview and does a cma and tells the sellers the house should list for $300K and the sellers say well xyz company told me they would list it for $350K, they go with xzy only to find out 6 months later no showings,no offers. A waste of everyone's time! So you are correct Price is King

Jun 21, 2007 02:19 AM
Jennifer Walker-Derby
Re/Max Westside - Marietta, GA
Real Estate Extraordinaire

it is true when you say "it doesnt matter what you owe or what you need to move"

thanks for the post

Jun 21, 2007 02:29 AM
Stefan Scholl
Buyer's Broker of Northern Michigan, LLC - Petoskey, MI
Northern Michigan Real Estate
Very good insight, John.   Price indeed is king.  Anything will sell if priced properly.
Jun 21, 2007 02:36 AM
John Lockwood
Lockwood Real Estate - Sacramento, CA

Wow, hey, thanks everyone for your comments.  Actually there's no insight here -- it's just something someone taught me, and experience has borne it out.

I took an extreme position here, but as always I'm interested in what Craig Schiller mentions, that there is a little bit of room if you get the condition just right (which is also why, intiuitively, people expect a "deal" on a fixer.)

I guess I just am extra adamant about this having just had the experience two days ago of having a colleague critizice (correctly) some awful photos of mine on one listing, and having the home have two offers in the same day, while we have some other homes with absolutely state of the art marketing that are sitting there.

Jun 21, 2007 03:10 AM
Sandi Bauman
Chico Homes Real Estate - Chico, CA
Chico CA Realtor
As an agent sitting on 18 listings, I couldn't agree with you more!  It is (in my humble opinion) 90% about the price.  There are always other factors that come into play... lots of them...  but it all boils down to that listing number.  Unfortunately, that is a tough point to get across to a seller!
Jun 21, 2007 03:46 AM
Sue Nelson, Broker/Associate Las Vegas Real Estate ~Team Rhino~
ERA Sunbelt Realty - Las Vegas, NV
BRAVO!!!  I love it.  I tend to say that "price is the color of choice".
Jun 21, 2007 03:54 AM
Michael Eisenberg
eXp Realty - Bellingham, WA
Bellingham Real Estate Guy
Great post, you are a great writer indeed, have you written any novels yet, you should.........best sellers!
Jun 21, 2007 05:05 AM
Teresa Boardman
Boardman Realty - Saint Paul, MN
I love being agent number 2 on an over priced listing.  Makes my job so much easier. :)  nice post John.
Jun 21, 2007 06:57 AM
Eric Kodner
Wayzata Lakes Realty: Eric Kodner Sells Twin Cities Homes - Minnetonka, MN
Wayzata Lakes Realty: Twin Cities, Madeline Island
Real Estate is a commodity. The price is what a given person will pay on a given day for that commodity. Many, many unsuccessful sellers refuse to recognize this. And too few agents are willing to stick their neck out and tell it like it is regarding listing price.
Jun 21, 2007 08:02 AM
John Lockwood
Lockwood Real Estate - Sacramento, CA

Wow, thanks everyone.  Michael, novelist you say?  Where do I send your check again?  :) 

Jun 21, 2007 08:20 AM
Jay Burnham
Coldwell Banker - Beverly, MA
The Coldwell Banker Guy

How true!  And for those who say the buyer pool is smaller...NOT SO.  The lower the price, the more buyers that are willing to step up.  thanks for the blog!

Regards...Jay

Jun 21, 2007 01:42 PM
Maurice McLaughlin
Nations Princeton-Nassau Inc. d/b/a NATIONS - Naples, FL
Maurice McLaughlin
"PRICE IS KING" ESPECIALLY IN THIS MARKET>>>>NICE PRESENTATION ON YOUR POINT!!!
Jun 21, 2007 02:34 PM
Nattalie de la Mothe
Maximum One Greater Atlanta Realtors - Atlanta, GA
Selling Atlanta Homes like a Boss

It's funny how sellers can adjust their asking price to cover the house they're planning on purchasing or how much the owe on the loan...

Great post!!

Jun 21, 2007 03:59 PM
Marty Van Diest
Valley Market Real Estate - Wasilla, AK
Your Alaskan Realtor

There is a one word answer to your problem mister seller.....PRICE.

Not quite as simple as that.  It still has to be marketed, and it still should be staged.  And if you would move it to the hot side of town that would help too.  But PRICE is number one. 

Jun 21, 2007 09:09 PM