On Tuesday my RE partner and I had the kind of call you wish you received daily. A seller looking for a an agent to list their property. An out of state part-time resident was ready to test the market, or so we thought.
As newer agents we were happy to receive the call and get right to work. We put together a CMA and went to tour the property. A very nice 3/2 waterfront on a desirable Key known for its access to great fishing either offshore or in the Gulf. Everything looked good from our perspective. The only part left was to complete the paperwork and set an asking price.
We spent some time with the prospective seller educating him about the local market conditions including sales price, inventory levels and other similar properties for sale that would be competing with his for a buyer. We e-mailed him a copy of the Competitive Market Analysis (CMA) and discussed the data and results.
Our market research justified an asking price of no more than $424,000 with most of the sales closing somewhere around the $399K mark. This is where the train went off the tracks!
The seller was interested in netting $500,000 from the sale. Notice I said net? He was very nice to talk to but inconsolable as to his properties sale potential in the present market. He stated that our proposed listing price was less than his initial investment - that his property was almost new - that it was built to higher wind standards. We knew all of these things and factored them in the listing price before we sent him the CMA. He wouldn't budge.
Our seller was under the impression that he sets the price and we list the property for sale. We agreed in concept except we told him we weren't interested in taking his listing at his price level, at this time (with emphasis).
Dead silence on the end of the line.
We explained our position and thanked him for his call telling him we would be in touch on a regular basis. I have a feeling the seller ended the call shaking his head that we didn't jump on the listing at any price. Might even see the home listed with another broker in the near future.
Tough but necessary business decision for a new agent to make. Tough love for the seller.
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