2 Reasons the market is 'Gummed Up' (Shawn Rawls quote) is. The Media &   Incompetence.

1. The Mediais negative and reports a national perspective. We know all Real Estate is local so their reports are as good as saying it's raining in San Francisco so it must be raining in Atlanta. How do we overcome this?

a. Know your local market,know your markets numbers, know the competing listings.

b. Be able to advertise, interpret and explain the complexities in everyday terms and reassure your buyers and sellers when their move makes sense.

c. Most of all Know your market

Example- Why are buyers so reluctant to buy?? FEAR is the Factor. Because they do not understand the market!! When the market was a sellers market they should have been afraid of paying too much and they weren't, now it is a buyer market and they shouldn't be afraid they are???? What are you doing to explain this to them??

2. Incompetence - Sellers still want to list at what they think the home is worth not what the market will bear. They want to employ agentswho will agree and do business as they have always done. (3p's a.Put it in the system. b. Place a sign in the yard. C. Pray). The market has shifted we can not do business the same way as we did even six month ago.  A true professional would explain that this approach would be a great dis-service to their client.

If you allow you client to price for negotiation, then negotiation is what you are going to get. If you price your home for competition, competition is what you will get.

Selling in a shifted market a 'Buyers' market is like a beauty pageant and the Realtor is the coach. Only one home will be picked and it will be the one that is priced and presented to excite the Judges.

When a seller says,'I can't take less than..." It is easy to say but what would their answer be in 8-12 months when they haven't sold. Can you ask that question up front?

Can you ask, "what do you want as a Max price for the home and what is you Max price you want now." These are two different prices.

We see time and time again out of 100 listings 12 make it to closing without Price Reduction and net 98% in 3-4 times less days on market than the other homes that net a sales price in the 80%'s or no sale at all.

If we can start with addressing these 2 issues on more than the 20% of us everyone will benifit and the market will Shift back for all of us. There's the challenge Let's Do It!!