Sellers Don't Want the Truth

Overpricing the listing is a waste of time....especially in a declining market. Why waste money on a professional phtog when you know it mostly likely won't sell? (Not to mention all the other time, money and effort.)

Maureen, I know this is a tough one. I don't take over-priced listings and yes, I have missed out on some commissions because of it. However, when a house is priced $100K over the comparables, it's going to sit on the market for a long time. The only way it's going to sell is through multiple price reductions. IF the sellers even hang in with the listing agent that long.

I took an over-priced listing once with the promise of a price reduction 90 days in. It never happened because he refused to drop the price. He blamed my marketing for the reason it wasn't getting showings. This seller plagued me daily with nasty emails and refused my calls. I spent $1,000 on marketing his home.

I eventually cut him loose because I couldn't take it anymore. It's not worth the stress to me. I don't care how nice the listing was. When it expires, contact the sellers again to see if they've finally gotten with the program on price. In the meantime, concentrate on those sellers who are actually smart enough to take your advice.

That's a tough one Maureen. They even "stole" your photographer. Perhaps they will come back to you when they realize how far out of the ballpark they truly are.

When leaving you could always say " I'll see you in 90 to 120 days" !  When asked why , you'll say "that's when your listing will be expiring, won't it ?"

It's not like you lost out on a sale. Having a list price of 100k higher than what the market supports suggests that there will be no sale or closing anytime soon with either of these listings...

Maureen, those homes aren't under contract, or sold yet.

For all you know, the sellers may be calling you in 6 months.  Sometimes, being the 1st realtor isn't as good as being the 2nd.  I'd say being the honest realtor without inflating the price to whatever the seller wants will always be smarter.

Surely, you'll monitor, and hopefully you'll update us all, likely in 2015.

Not sure you want to walk out the door with an overpriced listing. 20+% overpriced just will not sell. Maybe add automatic price reductions into your listing contract so the sellers understand why they are having no showings.

The only thing you could have done differently is get a pre-listing appraisal.  It would have confirmed your pricing was correct.

I ALWAYS get pre-listing appraisals.  I also always get pre-listing Inspections.  And that combination has always worked well for me.

Hi Maureen: I lost listings 3x already over the course of 8 years to a competition. I always asked the sellers why they did chose the other listing agent over me. And when it was about the brand or the promise of a 20k to more from I had presented, I would let it go and never felt bad about the loss. And most of the time, the property stays longer on the market with numerous price reductions.

Hi Maureen Harmonay sorry I'm late for this party!!!  $100k is a wide spread....we would not have taken a listing with that large a gap....we certainly have taken overpriced listings, but not unless the seller fully understands that fair market value is within the price range that we quoted... and we put that in writing....we will take the listing but only if the seller will agree to adjust the price significantly after 3 weeks...a motivated seller will do that.... and that's the only type of seller we want....

Maureen

I lost a listing once and I was stung because the seller used my stager.  I now go into listing presentations but never, ever, divulge names or sources.  That might have helped with the photographer situation - thes seller didn't need to know who it was.  (I know it's possible that the other agent recognized who it was and provided the info, in which case, yuck.)