So tell me something, why are you calling me now that my listing has expired but you never showed it when it was listed?
Have you ever heard that or if you are a home owner have you ever said that or thought it? It's a good question and a fair question. Fair enough, the seller is angry. They had their home on the market for 6 months and it didn't sell, worse yet, barely anyone looked at it. I called an owner of a Clearwater, Florida Beach Front Condo last week and was read this familiar script that so many sellers use. Don't' get me wrong, I understand the frustration, however, it is a little misplaced. Instead of being upset with me for calling to see if they still wanted to sell their home, maybe she should be frustrated with their previous agent for:
1. Suggesting a listing price too high
2. Not asking for a price reduction often enough
3. Telling the seller not to bother painting, replacing the worn out carpet or any number of improvements that were obviously needed.
4. Taking the listing at a discount (because that's the only way they get listings) and offering a discounted fee to the selling agent.
5. Most importantly, not doing anything to let me know the home was for sale, how beautiful it was and encouraging me to bring my buyers.
As a matter of fact, I call an average of 30 expired listings every day and at least 90% of the time, I didn't know about the listing until it showed up on my expired list. If you are a home seller, ask yourself, better yet, ask your Realtor what are they doing to let other Realtors know about your amazing Beach Front Condo and don't settle for "well it's in the MLS and on the internet. Sorry, but if that was enough, we wouldn't need Realtors. Oh, and if you are a Realtor and are offended by this, sorry but I would rather be honest and help you sell more homes than make you happy.
OK, so what should I do to get more showings, sell my listing and keep it off that dreaded expired list? Try the following:
1. Price it competitively, at least lower than the last sold in a declining market. Active listings matter because they are the competition and we need to beat them but start with pricing below the most recent comparable sold. I am amazed at how many agents still don't get this or they just list at any price to make the home owner happy. I would rather be honest and tell the homeowner what they need to hear than lie to them and make them happy now only to have them mad at me later.
2. Reduce the price every 30 days it hasn't sold by at least 5%. A conservative price reduction is 5% and an aggressive price reduction is 10%. You need to cut in front of the other sellers or you are going to just continue to chase the market down.
3. if you have had 10 showings and no offers, there is either something wrong with the price or how your home shows. Determine which it is and fix it. By the way, it could be both and making improvement will not get you more money but it may be the reason you sell. Any time a seller ask me if they should paint, replace the carpet, etc. my answer is always, "I would"!
4. Start packing and put at least half of that junk, oops, I meant stuff in storage. The moment you put your home on the market, it is no longer your home, you just live there.
5. Call every agent that has a comparable home to yours in the area and let them know about your awesome new listing. They are getting buyer calls on their listings which are probably overpriced so when the buyer says "oh that price is too high" , they can let them know about your new listing.
6. Take showing calls so you can cross sell your other listing.
7. Do open houses. I know, most Realtors hate open houses but what do you have to lose. Bring work to do and the worst thing that could happen, is a buyer walks in and interrupts you.
8. Send an e-mail to the top 100 agents in your market selling the features of your new listing.
9. Prospect daily to other expired and for sale by owner listings and ask everyone you talk to "Where would you go if your home sold?"
10. Attend social networking events and pitch your new listings.
So there are 10 ideas that beat, place a sign in the yard, place the listing in the MLS and then pray someone sells it. By the way, next time an angry seller ask why you never showed their listing, the answer is simple; "I didn't know it was for sale."
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