Many times in this wonderful world of real estate home sellers are led down a path that looks oh so rosy yet does absolutely nothing to help get the home sold. What I am talking about is the agent that will over price a property, building up the seller’s hopes, and put the homeowner in a position of having to try to chase the market. I attended a seminar several years ago where the instructor stated that if you price a home high it’s OK because you will be the one who gets to reduce the price. I totally disagree with this philosophy. With all the information available to buyer’s being at the click of a mouse so to speak, it baffles me why a professional REALTOR would put a client through this nonsense.
Let me give you an example of what I am referring to. This is a true account of an actual listing that started out with a discount broker and has evolved with no success for the seller.
• 5-1-2008 Property listed at $530,000
• 6-13-2008 Price reduced to $480,000
• 9-6-2008 Price reduced to $425,000
• 10-29-2008 Listing Expires
• 1-23-2009 Property is relisted at $389,000
• 7-23-2009 Listing Expires again
• 7-24-2009 Property is relisted this time to a reasonable $339,000
• 8-31-2009 Seller withdraws listing from the listing service 38 days into a 6 month listing contract
• 9-2-2009 Seller relists the property with a different agent for $359,000
Do you see what I mean about chasing the market? This seller was led down the primrose path initially and then once they reached the reasonable list price of $339,000 elected to change agents after 38 days into the third listing period and raise the price by $20,000.00. Will they be chasing the market again? A buyer’s agent will be able to show their client this entire detailed chronology for this home. If you were the buyer what offer price would you make? Would it be over $339,000? If I were representing the buyer I don’t think I could advise them to offer anything above $339,000 and I would probably suggest less. How much money has this seller lost in over 16 months of a declining market? Not to mention at least 16 months of payments and taxes on a property they obviously want to sell!
Real estate is local and values as well as markets differ all across the nation however one thing is constant, if your home is overpriced it will not only not sell but it will not appraise (which brings up a totally different set of circumstances). So now it is time to answer the all important question of “Who is the best agent to sell my home”. I think it is safe to say that the best agent to help sell your home is the one that will provide you with the truth about the value (It may or may not be what you want to hear) and provide you with the maximum exposure (Multiple website exposure on both local and national sites).
Here is an offer for anyone in the Atlanta Real Estate Market, if you elect to have me represent you in the sale and marketing of your home we will obtain an appraisal in order to establish the list price and I will reimburse you for the cost of the appraisal when we close the sale of your home. Does this sound fair to you? Let me know what you think.