When you decide to sell your Chandler home, do you want an agent who is honest with you, or do you want an agent who will list your home for the highest price?
I recently met with a seller who was interviewing agents to sell his home. I provided him with sales data that showed what the home would likely appraise for, which was, of course, less than he thought it was worth. I explained that the market simply would not support a higher price and therefore, I could not in good conscience list the home for the price he wanted to list it for. I also explained that overpricing his home would simply cause him undue stress as a higher price would result in a few showings and no offers. Further, we would waste valuable time in a declining market and he would end up selling the home for even less in a number of months than if we priced the home appropriately now.
I received a call from Mr. Seller telling me he had listed with another agent for a substantially higher price than I would list the property for. He said he really liked everything I would have done to sell his home, but just couldn’t agree with my pricing. I wished him the best.
It’s been 4 months. Mr. Seller’s home is still on t he market and has been reduced to $15,000 less than I had suggested he list it for. The listing is now considered stale and I’m really wishing Mr. Seller had listened to me. I’m pretty sure we would have had his home sold by now for considerably more than he’s going to end up getting now.
Since that listing appointment, I’ve listed and sold several homes in the Chandler area. These sellers wanted to sell their homes and understood the need to be priced right. They weren’t simply looking for an agent who would list their home for the highest price. Consequently I was able to sell their homes for full price or very close to it and all of them sold in a matter of no more than a few weeks.
So, what do you want to do? Do you want to list your home or do you want to sell it?
{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
Amy, GREAT point and really well written too. Sellers, do yourself a favor: remember it’s not all about the list price. A list price is worth a big fat $0 if your home doesn’t sell.
Thanks Heather! There will always be agents out there willing to list overpriced homes, but I think most sellers really do want to sell.
Nice one Amy! I really agree with you! too much of it would lead to zero sale!