They Just Don't Get It : The Gene Molloy Real Estate Blog

The Gene Molloy Real Estate Blog

Apr. 7, 2006 - They Just Don't Get It

So you are about to sell your HOUSE. That's right, I said your house. It was your HOME while you lived there doing all the life event things one does in their home, but now that you are about to put it up for sale on the market you need to detach. You can't be objective unless you can see the house for the commodity that it is. Buyers will not pay more for your emotional attachments.

I say all this to help you realize that when you call me to put your house on the market I am going to do a competitive or comparable market analysis (CMA). The CMA will tell us how much you can reasonable expect to get for the house based on what other houses in the area are selling for. The cold hard fact is, just because you raised you five kids there and there are twelve parakeets, two dogs, and fifteen gerbils buried in the back yard does not make it worth $60,000 more than the house just like it across the street. In fact, that above ground pool may well be a detriment.

I recently put a house on the market that was priced $60,000 too high. Why? Because the people that were selling it were past clients of mine. When they said they wanted to test the market for ninety days at THEIR price I hesitantly agreed. I put together a class act feature sheet, virtual tour, just listed post cards and even a talking house. The house was featured on my websites, REALTOR.Com, etc. What followed my $1,000+ marketing program was a hand full of showings, a brokers open and a lot of priced too high feedback, which I shared with them.

Imagine my surprise when a week before the listing was to expire, they informed me that they would not be extending the listing. They were going to call one of the "neighborhood experts". Well a week later the house resurfaces on the MLS priced $60,000 lower. I guess the "neighborhood expert" must have used the same comps I used. After having sold Grandma's Condo for them and finding two of their sons really nice deals on the purchase of their homes (that's right, for emotional purposes, when you are the buyer you are buying a home), you would think that they would have given ME ninety more days at MY price.

What a savage act on their part.

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Apr. 7, 2006 - Happens to All of Us

Posted by Bonnie Erickson

I had the same thing happen a year ago. The client wanted to start at their price. It didn't sell and I fully expected to get the relist in the spring. No call to me. No courtesy of letting me know. I stumbled on it by calling the seller and reminding her this was the time we were going to relist. Funny thing. The other agent . . . well, the price was $40,000 less than the original list. Why? Because that's what it was worth. That was the price I had first recommended, but the emotional value of the house had colored the sellers REAL perception of its value.

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May. 9, 2006 - re: They Just Don't Get It

Posted by Anonymous

I've had pretty good luck with letting them list at their price - for 30 days. We figure out then and there what date 30 days will be - and sign the Change of Status paper with that date written in. After that, we go to my price for the rest of the listing.

I assure them that I would RATHER sell at their higher price, so will certainly do my best marketing, ... But the actual goal of the listing is to sell the house. 30 days for the ego, the rest of the listing for reality!

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