I am bewildered !! I have seen some new overpriced listings in Windemere and it just blows my mind that some sellers are getting taken for a ride.When sellers contact me for getting a value of their homes, I tell them the truth.Some like it and some don't because people want to hear what they think is right.

It would be a disservice to sellers to always agree with them on the price they have in their mind. That is why we are the professionals who know what price would make the house move.Sellers firstly need to identify the motivation for them to pick up the phone and call an agent to get pricing on their house.If they want to sell and move out of area, or move up or move down then the understanding should be very clear. You have to ask the agent about the price rather than tell them what you think is the value of your home ! There should be a time frame and expectations should be put forth on the table from the beginning.

You price your home high and base it on what the houses were selling for even 6 months ago, leave alone 2 years ago, then you are in for long wait of a buyer. A seller needs to interview agents who will be brave enough to disagree with you on your perception of the value of your home because that agent will price it right and make it move. There are many realtors who will pander to the sellers whims and price your home according to what you want it, just to get the listing. Next step, comes a gradual price reduction when there ae no showings on the home.Then your house will sit on the market for weeks even months and will sell for a much lower price because by that time the seller is frustrated and the buyers are moving in for a kill !

Give you an example- there was a house in Windemere, 2500 sqft, backing up to open spaces, beautiful home. I had a buyer for it at 840K when the house was priced at 899K almost 11 months ago.The listing agent told me not to bother write it up at that price because he has many offers on it. Two days later I see the listing expired and there was a new agent assigned to it a week later !! And again at a ridiculous price. Now that house sits on the market for a 100K less and still not sold.Another example of a home that was listed at 829K when the surrounding ones were selling for 790-800K. I called the listing agent and he tells me not to bother bringing in a lower offer as the seller won't take it.He said the same to another agent from my office, so we backed away from the home. The seller called me from my business card( as he had seen me come in with many buyers)and I told him what had happened and he was seething because today his house is off the market and not sold. And the value he will get today is about 720K, if he is lucky !

I was on a listing appointment with a seller and they quoted a ridiculous amount on the value of their home and I just sat there, absolutely dumbfounded. She was telling me how much the houses were selling for 2 years ago( which I knew and also knew that most of them came back as REO"s last year). I gave her the exact comps as I had listed and sold in her area but she was stuck on the price. I got up, thanked her for her time, wished her the best and left. And she does not know but her next door neighbor just foreclosed on their home and I cringe to think how much that was coming on the market for.

This is my plea to sellers- please take a note of the things I am talking about before you make a decision on who to list your home with.I am not running down others from my fraternity but people need to understand that if they really want to help the sellers, they need to be honest and upfront about pricing. That way we will also be able to stabilise the neighborhood faster.