To List or not to List

I think it has to be either price well to sell or the seller has to have motivation...if they price to high at leat you know they will need to come down.

We write it up if its reasonable. If not we pass the listing.

I have been through this for 12 yrs..at this time I refuse to take it unless it's highly reasonable. I just went on one last night...they will probably have to bring 25K to closing if we sell it. I told them if they weren't willing to price it where I suggested then they can hire another who can bring them a miracle and spend their money and time invested. Just wait...you'll be the second or third Realtor(R) when they realize the first advised them to price it higher...you can't do that in this market and it's rare to sell overpriced...I just did though but it was a long time client who has done many deals with me.

I don't take overpriced listings in this market, too much time, money and frustration. I'd rather be the honest one they come back to after they get real. Gosh, it's hard enough to sell in MI with homes priced right.

Sally, it has traditionally been better to have mostly listings versus having mostly buyers.  However, especially in a slow market, if the listings aren't salable and competitive, they're just a millstone around your neck.  Right now, having buyers is a pretty good thing!

I think the situation changes as an agent builds his/her business.  A new agent might be well advised to take the overpriced listing just to get his/her name on the sign and to have something to advertise.  At least, the sign calls will come in with the opportunity to pick up a client even if that client doesn't purchase the overpriced listing.  A more established agent will want to watch their DOM statistics and would be ill-advised to take the listing.

I agree with Don to some extent.  But there is one more factor that I would look at.  Location. . . if houses in the area are staying on the market longer, then I don't think it is too big a deal to take an overpriced listing.  Of course, try to get them to agree to an incremental drop . . . like every two weeks $5k or $10k.  It is good for new agents to use open houses to get clients, especially if the property is in a high traffic area. 

I used to take the overpriced listing is it was not too overpriced and the seller was willing to negotiate. As you stated, it requires alot of time, expense, and frustration. It is detrimental to you and your business, however when they gripe about how you didn't sell it after it expires, as you know, it's always the agent's fault. Word of mouth advertising is huge in this business and you're just opening up a door to bad publicity when this happens.

I agree with Don on his reasoning a newer agent would benifit from the listing , an experienced agent may want to pass it by---Bart

Hi, Sally

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