PRICE IT RIGHT…a common refrain from some Salespeople is that "if I don't list it at the price they want, they'll just go to another agent who will tell them what they want to hear". Of course the Seller wants to get the most money possible but… just because they want $350,000 doesn't mean that there's a Buyer out there who is prepared to pay that amount. Order Takers will take a listing at any price just to get their sign on the lawn. Order Takers end up working much too hard for the few dollars they earn. The Great Salespeople "list it right the first time". .
Here is your ACTION STEP…your job is to educate your Sellers. When they want to overprice it, be the professional. Here are 3 "tried and true" responses:
1. "Mr./Mrs. Seller… only one out of 9 houses on the market sell each month in this area…1 of 9! By overpricing your property we are going to end up at the end of that 9 months. That's not where you want to be, is it?" (Tip: to get this # divide the total active listings in your market by the actual sales in the last 30 days)
2. "Mr./Mrs. Seller… statistics consistently show that buyers do not put in offers on homes priced higher than their perceived value… said another way, if we do not get a reasonable offer on your home in 2 weeks then it is clearly overpriced!"
3. "Mr./Mrs. Seller… the most attention any property gets is in the first two weeks of the listing. The longer a property stays on the market… the less money the home will sell for. That's not a risk we should be taking, is it?"
Add these three to your list. You are not doing your Sellers any favors by acquiescing to unrealistic pricing. Be sure they understand the message in the CMA.The truth always comes out in the long run… your job is to make it a "short run". NO Excuses.