Did you get that? All You REALTORS Are Idiots!
That's what a previous client said to my partner the other day. These clients have had their property listed with 4 agents now (we were the 2nd) and 3 times (currently and between listings) as For Sale By Owner. This property has been for sale for over 3 years now.
When we took the listing (waayy back when), we got to he
ar about everything the other agent didn't do, how it got no showings, etc., etc. Remember, they were currently a FSBO, so we already knew what price they thought it was worth. After explaining what we do and how we market, we got into pricing. We showed them the market analysis, the current trend in the price and suggested a $450,000 price (a $100k drop). After a lot of discussing (the cleaned up version of what happened) we settled on a start price of $500k.
Then we got the other demands. Showings would be limited to certain times, the listing agent must be present at all showings, and the dog would remain in the house. All of these, of course, over our advice that this will pretty much kill any potential showings.
No, it didn't sell. After only a short time, we mutually agreed to terminate the contract since it clearly wasn't working for either party. As you've already read, it still hasn't sold, so every time there is a change in status, we call.
We were told this last time that "All you Realtors are Idiots!"
I really had to laugh at that. All of the agents that have taken the listing did a good job of presenting it to public. I know that the seller refused to listen to any of my advice on selling, so I'm sure that was the case in all the other instances as well. The seller still hasn't come to terms with the pricing on the property. Currently it is being advertised FSBO at $479,900.
A big drop from the starting of $550,000, for sure. The problem. The market hasn't improved since I had this listing. If I were to list it today, my suggested list price would be in the $350-375K mark.
Folks, the housing market isn't as good as it was during the boom years. In the Hickory NC area, it takes a lot of market knowledge to get homes in the $300K+ range sold in a respectable amount of time. If you're a seller that simply refuses to listen to the marketing advice given or even the simple data reports showing the housing market numbers, it's not the agent's fault that you can't sell your property.
If you hire a REALTOR® for the knowledge and advice, use it. It really is that simple.
Image courtesy of EmilyRides
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