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Deafening silence from a RealtorUser Forum Topic
Submitted by sc_alum on June 27, 2008 - 1:01pm
At some point in the next "x" years, we'll move from Temecula down to San Diego - x being determined by a variety of affordability factors and other drivers. A friend of ours wants us there sooner rather than later (wouldn't you know, he's owned his place in CV for a number of years), so recommended a realtor friend that we should contact. She was very quick to send us an introductory email, asked lots of questions, was very eager to talk. I responded with a pretty good summary of the kind of house/property we would be looking for, what our priorities were, and finally what I intended to pay for that. I even pointed out a house I would LOVE to own that's on the market, and the $ amount that I would be willing to pay to close on it tomorrow... Granted, it was about 30% off their current asking price in a very desireable CV area :) Needless to say, 2 days have now gone by with no response. I think we can chalk her up to one of the Realtors that likes to tell us how "Carmel Valley is different - prices will never come down here. You'd better just buy now or you'll REALLY be priced out forever..."
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Oh, yeah. I know the type. Probably thinks you're unrealistic. But in time you can laugh at them. Tsunami tide is heading toward the coast.
Maybe we should actually call it lava. It's moving slowly, but nontheless, will be headed to a coastal city near you.
Suppose you were a yacht broker.
Yacht sales are down and you knew that current prices were probably 30% above what they will be at some unknown point in the future.
Now, suppose that a new random potential customer calls you and says they want to buy a boat today at the reasonable price of 30% off today's asking price.
You might agree that yachts are overpriced by that amount, but you know for a fact you ain't gonna find them a deal like that today. Where in your priority list does this new customer's call go ? If you are a good yacht broker and are making sales you probably wouldn't return the call. Only if you were desperate would you return it.
Where in your priority list does this new customer's call go ? If you are a good yacht broker and are making sales you probably wouldn't return the call. Only if you were desperate would you return it.
Actually, I couldn't agree more - I don't really fault her for not being terribly interested in us, and largely expected to be put on the "thanks, but no thanks" list. We all have seen proof that there are folks buying at today's prices, so why would she waste her time with people who clearly aren't going to be earning her a comission any time soon.
That being said, one day we will buy - but probably not with the help of someone who didn't have 3 minutes to respond with a "Let's keep in touch, and I'll send you listings that might intrest you, etc etc." Relationship management 101.
Yes, the agent is short-sighted. I don't think many have the luxury of grooming customers for potential sales in 2010 or later. By then, they could be shining shoes.
Then again, how hard is it to establish your parameters and set up an automatically generated filter of listings delivered to you. I had an agent do this for us over a period of about 2 years.
I would think that more realtors than ever are thinking VERY short-term right now. It is a fight for survival because transaction volumes are nowhere close to supporting the number of realtors out there trying to make a living. If they don't make some sales NOW, they're probably thinking they might not even be around 2 years from now when prices may or may not be 30% below where they are now (for the record, I believe they will be).
The smart ones are getting creative and selective, like specializing in foreclosures, or only taking on clients that are realistic about their selling price, etc.
You make a good point, though, any realtor worth their salt and with a longer-term perspective would have responded in a manner similar to what you indicated in your last post.
What if your email ended up in her Spam folder and the Realtor hasn't seen it? It could be that you're rejecting a legitimatly good realtor in haste.
If you can't give a personal recommendation the benefit of the doubt then you might find yourself standing alone rather quickly.
Hmmm, a spam box that can filter out low-ball offers? Genius : )
The burden of staying in touch and nurturing the relationship is on the agent. The term "Buyers Market" applies to services just as much as to products.
If this is her career of choice, then she should be smart about it, email you back and say something like, "We're not at your price range, yet, but please keep me in mind down the road and I'll keep my eyes out for any deals in the future that I may come across."
How hard is that?
Perhaps a simpler answer might be... give her more than 2 days to respond. Yes, it's a buyer's market, but giving more than 2 days to respond to email is not unrealistic on a professional level. It may very well be that she's not interested, but it appears you may be jumping the gun a bit in making that assumption. All 'good' business is a 2 way street, even if buyer's are in a position of leverage right now.