"The Price is Right!" (or is it?)

Early on in my real estate career, I used to get really upset whenever a competing agent would get the listing by simply agreeing to market the home at whatever price the Sellers demanded. I figured that any schmuck could pull their real estate license out of a Cracker Jacks Box and tell the Sellers whatever convincing song and dance they wanted to hear. And so, there I was, left out in the cold, watching someone else's sign go up in their yard, clinging to my detailed market analysis, the data clearly substantiating the fact that they were listing their house for significantly more than what the market would bear. The weeks and months would go by. Price reduction after price reduction. Finally, the house would sell, and usually at or near the price I had originally suggested.

Even when I provided potential Sellers with excellent information and statistics on the pitfalls of overpricing, the alluring $$$ of the silver-tongued agent overruled my efforts. And once again, the weeks and months went by. Reduction after reduction. And the house finally sold, just below what I had recommended.

Well, it doesn’t usually take me very long to learn or adapt new methods. However, it did require that I was willing to suck in a little pride and ego regarding my very detailed and comprehensive market analysis, regardless of how accurate it may be.

The next time, I shared my analysis with the Sellers and asked for their input. If their number was not the same as my number, I would try to strike a compromise somewhere in between. I would agree to take on the listing with the understanding that if it was not under contract within a certain timeframe, that they would be willing to reduce the price. Moreover, I would still counsel them on the dangers of overpricing.

Fortunately, these days, the majority of my clients come by referral, so there typically are not many objections to my comparative marketing analysis. In a slower market, the importance of accurate market value pricing becomes a much more critical issue. All the more reason when you choose an agent to represent you, not to base your decision solely on how much they tell you they can sell your house for, but ask them “how” they plan to market it effectively, and sell it within a reasonable timeframe.

Rich Jacobson, Your Silverdale WA Real Estate Agent