I had a client this week that was having trouble understanding that the price he could get for his house now was not same price his neighbor was able to get last year for the same basic floorplan. 

After talking to him a while it was evident that he wasn't just being stubborn, he truly wasn't getting it.  Luckily (okay it wasn't luck I was prepared for it), I was ready to explain some concepts that I felt were critical to my success overall. 

So we went to Economics 101.  I pulled out a chart on the "Principle of Price Elasticity"  that I frequently use to illustrate the concept.  I explained that the real estate market, like any commodity, has fluctuations, some are seasonal, such as the holiday season, or an election year, some are local economy driven such as the closing of a plant in a small town, yet some, as we are experiencing now are much larger in scope, they are regionally, nationally, and even globally based economic fluctuations.  I explained that all of these uncertainties in turn affect the local real estate market and ultimately the price of his home.  We discussed the current mortgage industry 'situation' as well as many of the potential buyers for his home were no longer able to purchase as the down payment assistance programs had dried up and this too played into higher supply, lower demand and in turn was having an affect on the prices of homes.

I then pointed to the chart explaining that within that fluctuating market there was a price range.  That is there was the possibility (or not) of getting more for his home than others on the street.  To get a higher price we needed to work together to postioned his home for sale, staging it etc.  He found it difficult to believe that the homes prices would vary so much, in his mind a 1300 sq ft house is a 1300 sq ft hosue.  And ...well you guessed it, I pulled out another chart.  This one showed last last four months sales in a single neighborhood with similar square footage.  It clearly showed that in this one group of homes there was indeed a difference in prices and in how long a home was on the market.  We discussed all of the homes that didn't sell during this same time, withdrawn from the market or expired. 

Finally, with the help of these charts my client began to understand the current market condition and why some homes sell and others won't.  It wasn't all the Realors fault as he had believed.  That's not to say he liked what he heard.  Of course he didn't like it, but he finally said he 'got it'. 

But almost as importantly was that his mind began to open.  Now he was leaning forward and we were engaged in conversation rather than him sitting back, closed expression, with an "Okay give me your spiel" kind of attitude.  And this openness allowed me to go into an explanation about how the prices of the homes that are on the market, whether in an"up" market or a "down" market still varied substantially.  He began asking a lot of questions so we began going through examples of some of the homes that sold (and some that didn't) and discussed why.  We talked about the importance of decluttering (a concept he was reluctant to discuss earlier and needed to understand BADLY), value of repainting over some very bright colors, sprucing up a few things here and there etc.  In fact he asked my opinion and we went room by room discussing things he could do at little or no cost to help his home sell better. 

Bottom line; I was no longer the 'enemy'. 

So did I walk away with the listing....no.  He decided to hold off as it became clear that he wasn't motivated enough to sell in the current market.  But he promised in the coming weeks he would start going through his new "To Do List" so that when he called me next Spring he'd be able to show me a home that was ready to sell. 

Do I think he'll call....I hope so.  But even if he doesn't, I still walked away feeling good about the appointment, because I know it's not always about getting the listing.  I know I helped someone understand the importance of pricing a home correctly and getting their home 'market ready' in order to get top dollar.  I know when he's ready he'll know what questions to ask the realtors he considers.  Besides...as I was leaving he looked me straight in the eye and gave me a grin and told me that he didn't think Realtors were worthless any more....and hey that put a smile on my face.