Commercial PropertySeller Wants To Replace Realtor
As sellers find they have missed the all-important back-to-school deadline in selling their homes, some blame their Realtors, but is there more to the story?
One seller writes Realty Times from Plano, Texas:
Blanche, I"ve had a home listed in Plano for several months and am now considering switching realtors. Is there a source of information that provides statistics on which agents or firms sell the most homes in Plano, especially in the range above $750,000?
Plano, only a few short years ago, was the poster-city for new community development, and the winner of numerous city-planning awards. Lots of big-name employers offered lots of jobs with high pay far from the inner-city woes of Dallas.
But with major employers negatively impacted by the tech bust and hundreds of jobs lost with Texas Instruments, EDS, and American Airlines, among many others, the Plano housing market shifted leaving many people upside down in their home loans, owing more than they could sell their homes for.
Others didn"t owe more than they could sell for, but they wanted to capitalize on the gains others had earned during the go-go nineties, and refused to budge off of inflated asking prices.
Competing cities grew when Plano built itself out, and are able to offer brand-new and build-to-suit construction with more features and builder incentives than the slightly older Plano homes have, which further pressures resales in the area.
Because of the planning by city fathers (and mothers) Plano will rise again as a desirable place to buy a home, but not until major employers start rehiring and buyers work through some of the sitting housing inventory, and that may take a while.
So without knowing the particulars of this seller"s situation, here"s how we answered his query:
No, there isn"t such a list that is available to the public, but it looks like you could use some uninvited help, so here it is.
Have you talked to your Realtor about why you aren"t getting offers?
Three things affect the sale of homes - price, condition and location. Right now, we are in a terrible buyer"s market across most of the Dallas area, so in a buyer"s market, price, condition, and location become even more crucial. Buyers are feeling like they are taking more risk because they know they aren"t going to experience appreciation for a while. They want to offset that risk by buying a home in perfect condition and/or at a bargain price.
So my next question is have you been getting any feedback from buyers on your home, and are you paying attention to what they are saying or have you pooh-poohed their concerns?
One seller I know has been trying to sell his home for months. Located in a lovely gated community, the home was built about 1985, before buyers couldn"t live without granite countertops. He has hand-painted tile in his kitchen which was the rage twenty years ago, but looks quaint and out of date today. Installing new countertops isn"t that expensive for an $800,000 home, but this seller is holding firm. He believes the buyers should simply ask for a slight reduction in price and put in their own granite.
But that"s the point. It"s not that kind of a market. In a seller"s market, buyers would grab the house, and shut up, but in a buyer"s market, the buyers want the sellers to do all the capitulation. So if you"ve been told your house needs something and you haven"t done it, your house probably won"t sell at anywhere near the price you are asking.
Last, I would question whether or not replacing your Realtor would do any good at this point. Unless your Realtor has been neglecting you or avoiding you, it"s probably the market that is impacting your home.
It"s likely that your current Realtor is probably at the end of what she or he can spend marketing your home and still make a profit on selling your home. For that reason, it may do you some good to give the listing to another salesperson, but not necessarily.
First, all the Realtors in the area already know about your house. If it"s relisted, they know what happened, because their buyers told them what they thought. In other words, listing with another Realtor won"t fool the market.
So here"s what will likely happen. The smart second Realtor won"t tell you that you overpriced the home, he or she will let you blame the Realtor you are abandoning. But the second Realtor will insist that you lower the price and make improvements that you haven"t made up until now, which is probably the same advice your current Realtor already told you, but you perhaps didn"t want to hear. So with probably no advertising expenses spent, the second Realtor will sell the house right out of the gate, and the first Realtor is out of luck.
And all because you were ready to listen to reason by the time the second Realtor came along.
So, if you can review what"s happened between you and your Realtor, and you feel that your Realtor has done a good job, go ahead and reduce your price, make the improvements buyers are telling you they want, and sell the house. If you feel she or he hasn"t properly represented you, then by all means get another Realtor, but be prepared to do some capitulating.
Capitulation is easier if you weigh the costs of not capitulating. You may clear less from the home, but will you be able to move on with your life and plans? There"s something to be said for moving on.
Now, what if you are a Realtor faced with a seller who hasn"t sold his home?
Communication goes a long way in quelling sellers" fears. If your seller is threatening to pull the listing, chances are fear has taken over because you haven"t stayed in touch and provided enough information. Make sure you provide emails or faxes (so you"ll have proof of the communication) telling your sellers about the latest listings and asking prices and closed sales in the area and what they should be doing to compete.
Show them what the market is doing, and they"ll never wonder what you"re doing.
If the seller is amenable, offer to take the listing out of the MLS and resubmit it with a new listing contract at the old price, and with an immediate price reduction. If the seller is adamant about changing Realtors, offer to refer one to him so that you can collect the referral fee. If the seller has been more trouble and expense than you can recoup even by selling his home, count yourself a lesson learned and offer your seller a listing cancellation agreement.