Sample of a home, used in this case for illustration purposes only.
I like to look at listings that have expired. I do it every morning, first thing.
You see, here's what I think is the truth. Houses do not fail to sell, especially in a hot market, because there was no one who would buy it.
Houses don't sell because the owner and the listing agent didn't market it properly. In Dallas, that's two or three people against 14,900 agents and their prospective buyers.
Perhaps it's the price; maybe showing it has been made inconvenient; perhaps the photos in MLS are fuzzy and don't do it justice...I don't know.
But who is not at fault are the market and the Realtors who are dying to co-op on a house that they can sell.
The problem is in total ownership of the listing agent and his client. They have total control.
If a house hasn't sold within, say, three months and the agent and his client haven't discovered the problem, fixed it, then repackaged the listing, probably best to not renew the listing, but start with a new set of eyes and ideas.
Most of the time, within a few minutes I can reason out what the problems are that have caused the home to be bypassed by buyers and their agents. And I can do it without seeing the home in person. You can, too.
The other day, I came across a home that had been listed with the same agent, renewed multiple times, for more than a year. The price had been lowered a bit at least once. Still no interest. "Surely the owner won't renew with that agent another time," I said to myself. But she did.
Continuing with the idea that there isn't anyone in town who wants to buy a home like hers is bankrupt. Several thousand homes sell here every month. In her home's case, often more than a month passed between showings.
So I began looking at the pictures, and then I studied the neighborhood and did my own com test. Nothing wrong there. Price was even below the market in that area.
And then I looked at the appraisal value that the taxing authorities were using on her home. The value was at least 20% more than it should have been. Bingo!
BILL CHERRY, REALTOR
Since 1966
Dallas
214 503-8563
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