- This topic has 18 replies, 6 voices, and was last updated 18 years, 4 months ago by
sdrealtor.
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August 2, 2006 at 5:43 PM #7075August 3, 2006 at 5:08 PM #30599
Diego Mamani
ParticipantObviously, CBB is not the only factor that will determine whether a property sells fast. If I want to sell my house before market prices deteriorate even more, I’d make sure that each of the following is competitive (in no particular order):
– CBB among the highest in the neighborhood (not just in line with the rest).
– Price that is realistic given the market conditions today.
– Aggressive marketing by my agent.
– Proper staging and attention to curb appeal.
– etc.I’m not surprised that you found no correlation between CBB and whether a house sold fast or not. For that, you would need to control for all the other variables. A house priced right will sell no matter how low the CBB is. Similarly, an undesirable house with freeway noise or poor maintenance will be slow to sell, no matter how low the price or high the CBB. CBB matters, but is not the only factor of interest.
If you are a seller you need to make sure your CBB is not average or below average, but you also need to pay attention to price and other aspects which are equally important.
August 3, 2006 at 5:57 PM #30602no_such_reality
ParticipantDiego, you must be an agent.
August 3, 2006 at 6:34 PM #30605ParticipantDiego, you must be an agent.
Perhaps for the next housing boom…
August 3, 2006 at 10:14 PM #30627SD Realtor
ParticipantDiego –
I agree with the comments that are subsequent to your offer. Your commentary really lends itself to backing up stereotypes that have developed in our industry.
By putting CBB as one of the more important parameters in consideration of selling a home, you are reinforcing the old boy network.
Why should a buyers agent care what the CBB is? If a buyers agent is TRULY DOING HIS JOB which is finding a home for his client then HE SHOULD BE BLIND to the CBB.
Again, you seemed to be blind to what I stated in previous posts. That is pricing your home, visiting the competition that is local to you and making sure your home is more appealing and/or priced better then that local competition, and making sure your home has been made to look good, then you have positioned your home as well as you can.
Do you have hard stats for how many sales open houses generate?
Do you have hard stats for how many sales your brokers tours have generated?
Do you have hard stats for how many sales your marketing efforts have generated?
For my brokerage, 100% of my sales have been due to the MLS, Realtor.com, or drive bys. To justify 3% on each side of a real estate transaction for tools that are outdated and have not changed for 30 years is simply not fair.
As long as there are agents and realtors like yourself, my brokerage will continue to flourish.
August 3, 2006 at 11:43 PM #30635sdrealtor
ParticipantI hate to state the obvious but SD Realtor, apparently you don’t do open houses, broker tours or advertise your listings so it makes perfect sense that 100% of your sales result from the only tools you use. I wouldn’t argue that the MLS is by far the most important, followed by Realtor.com. However, I have sold several homes the last few years due to Open Houses, Broker Tours and Advertising. The truth is we don’t know where the buyer will come from so the more you do to expose a home to the potential market, the more opportunities you have to create a sale for your client rather than simply waiting for one. As for the 3%, no argument here.
As an aside and with no disrespect intended I work full time to sell RE and devote all my energies to it. You work P/T and are able to exploit a niche. After two years during perhaps the best market in history, you probably arent qualified to have all the answers to fix the system. I’m not either. If I were you, I’d be happy exploiting the opportunites you have. If the big boys ever adopted your model, there would be no more niche for you to exploit.
August 4, 2006 at 12:17 AM #30637Participantno offense take at all…
I do absolutely agree with your statement that the more exposure that you give to a listing, the better. This is ABSOLUTELY TRUE. Yes I do agree that one never knows when or where a buyer would come from.
When I go on listing appointments I also tell people that if they want open houses, they can hold them on thier own, I will give them signs, advertise in the San Diego Union for them in the Sunday open house directory as well for that open house. I also do hold brokers tours for properties that I feel will benefit more from that tour. Personally I believe a brokers tour will be more effective for a home in Rancho Santa Fe as opposed to a home in Lemon Grove. I feel that when you get into higher end homes that you tend to cater to buyers who rely more on buyers agents to find thier homes then the “average buyer”. I feel that the “average buyer” of today would be classified as follows:
– computer savy
– does alot of thier own searcing in realtor.com or similar sites.
– not searching for what I would call high end housingSo when I talk to leads at listing appointments I tell them my thoughts on this and let them make the choice accordingly. If they think that an extra 2% is worth paying for having someone else hold the open house or for a brokers tour, then they should at the very least ask for hard data to show that. If in your listings you have seen that over the past year that the open houses you held and the brokers tours you had contributed to the sales then that is great.
Doesn’t it bother you at all to have your own profession held in contempt by a large segment of the population?
No I do not have all the answers to fix the system but I do think that many of the postings that people make that are disparaging to realtors are more closer to the truth then not. I am not saying realtors don’t work hard because some of them do. However how has the industry revolutionized itself over the past 30 or 40 years? What has justified the tremendous increase in revenues of participants in that industry? While your commission percentage stays the same you would have no doubt made much more money year over year for the past 6 years if you made the same number of sales correct?
So lets run numbers… if you sold a 300k home in 1998 and you got to keep 1.5% so you walked with 4500… lets say you sold 15 homes that year and walked with 66,500. Now 6 years later you have doubled your salary if you did ABSOLUTELY NOTHING different. Your salary just floated with the tide.
This I think is what infuriates people so much. I am sure you are a great realtor. However, how many stories do you hear from clients who complain about thier realtor. How many transactions are you in where you are frustrated by the ineptitude of the other realtor. Yet they have had thier salaries rise with the tide like you have.
I think that you are correct, if the big boys used my there absolutely would be no niche to exploit. I would find something else. However, I also think we would not have as many people who view realtors as nothing more then overpayed car salesman.
Again, I do not discourage people from using Realtors who charge 1%, 2% or 3%. I encourage people to simply ask for hard data when interviewing thier realtor. No disrespect taken at all from your post or your implication that as a second business I provide my clients with substandard service.
August 4, 2006 at 9:07 AM #30660ParticipantI agree with most of what you say and never said you provide substandard service which I’m confident you don’t. What you provide is limited service. I provide full service. For example, this Winter I had a client who needed to get their home ready for sale. They figured it would take a month. In 5 days, I had a large home painted, re-carpeted, plumbing issues addressed, electrical issues addressed, landscaping improved and had the home staged. My clients saved about $3K to $4K by using my contractors (many at direct wholesale rates). Their house went on the market, priced right and sold quickly, before the market got even worse. I believe it made between $25K and $50K difference getting their house on when they did. This is but one example of how realtors can earn their pay.
BTW, I charge 2.5% for full service on my side and invest heavily in my listings for things I believe will directly lead to the sale of their home. I hate spending money on things that have ZERO ROI and tell my clients so.
August 4, 2006 at 9:19 AM #30664PD
ParticipantWe are selling a condo in a bubble area. It has been for sale for a couple of months with no offers. Last week, we increased the commission. We have two offers this week.
August 4, 2006 at 9:51 AM #30672ParticipantPD that is great that by pumping up your CBB you received the two offers. A few questions…
Before you raised your CBB, was it competitive with the other CBBs for the comps that matched your property for sale? That is in your local area, what fraction of CBBs were 2%, what were 2.5% and what were 3% and above? Then what was yours? Also I assume you raised the CBB without changing the price, correct?
Also did you ask your realtor to ask the agents about the timing of the offer? That is, did the offers coincide with your decision to raise the CBB for any particular reason? Did these buyers agents suddenly decide to promote your condo simply because you raised the CBB? Was it the CBB that drew these two offers? I am not saying it wasn’t but trying to find out would be cool.
Again, I am not saying raising the CBB will not help to sell your home. I am just saying analyze things before you do that. All in all the very best way to sell a home is to make it most attractive to all involved. For buyers the most attractive thing is the price and the condition of the home. For brokers the most attractive thing is the commission.
However, what led me to start this post was what I was a statement that had no context, which was simply advice from someone to a seller to simply raise the buyers commission. Which I would agree with as long as the conditions merit that.
sdrealtor –
Your points are well taken… I do agree with you but I also provide the same service when it comes to contractors to prep homes for sale. I have many contacts who paint, do drywall, plumbing, scrape ceilings… etc… I also know plenty of limited service brokerages that do as well. Also I do want to clarify that I also never said that open houses or brokers tours do not sell homes. Again, the key note that I try to ask people to do is to simply request hard data, if it is available, about how much extra value those extra marketing tools provided by a full service broker provide.
August 4, 2006 at 3:03 PM #30712ParticipantSD ,
We pretty much are in agreement then on most areas. However, we both know that it is impossible to quantify with hard data how much extra value those marketing tools provide. To the client whose property it makes a difference on its well worth it, to others it isnt. We just dont know.We all know it’s getting harder and harder to sell. Last week, I saw 3 deals get put together between agents in my office before hitting the MLS. Those clients would all attest to the value provided by their agents. Two years ago all you needed was a cardboard sign in the lawn to sell and you probably couldnt even drive the stake in the ground before a few offers rolled in. I think we all agree that adddional marketing makes a difference, the question is how much? When you are carrying a dozen listings for 6 months that arent selling and your clients ask what are doing to get their property sold, you need to tell them something and have shown them something otherwise you are an overpriced Jeff Karchin service.
Also, when prices were rising the buyers of your listings didnt complain when an undisclosed roof leak reared its ugly head in the first winter rain because they had already made $50K in appreciation. When they are losing money due to falling values, they will look to sue everyone particularly the listing agent. I hope it’s not you or me for that matter, but at least I have a strong team behind me to stand in defense.
August 4, 2006 at 4:18 PM #30719ParticipantYes we do agree…
I would say that when I look at cancelled, expired and withdrawn listings, I see a full spectrum of as you would call it, different service brokers where the home didn’t sell. Same with the homes that did sell, we see sales from full service and we see sales from discount brokerages as well. It is all very hard to break it down and see what caused what.
So agreed the main factor is how much does additional market make. So if say there is a brokerage that will do everything a full service brokerage does except brokers tours and open house but that they do it for 1% commission as opposed to 3%. So is that to say that these two facets add a full 2% value to the client who uses a full service brokerage? I am not trying to be flippant. As an engineer I am anal about numbers so I am just trying to do the math.
The fact that you had some listings that got sold prior to hitting the MLS is great. Being able to market a large office that has alot of agents and volume is a tremendous advantage. The first thing I say to all of my clients is what I am not. That I don’t have those resources, that I don’t have a stable of agents working in my office and that this is a major difference between what I offer and what you can get with a large brokerage. I always present them with what I do and what I do not do, and what the advantages are by going in either direction. It is ultimately thier choice. Referring to the math equation I spoke of above, this would definitely factor into that for a case of a large office against a small guy like me. However, I have seen large Help U Sell offices and I don’t think it would work against those.
I found your comments about buyers looking to sue everyone in the case of a leaky roof peculiar. It seems to me that it doesnt matter what the market conditions are, the buyer would sue if there was a leaky roof. The attorneys working for your brokerage would not protect your seller in court correct? The seller would be obligated to hire his own legal defense. They would protect your brokerage. The fact is, the buyer would sue the seller, and perhaps your brokerage. Additionally the seller could sue the brokerage as well. No seller should ever assume they would receive any legal protection for a brokerage. Or am I mistaken…Remember, I am just a junior guy without all the years of experience you have.
August 4, 2006 at 5:34 PM #30723ParticipantIn a rising market no one worries about the little things. In a falling market, everyone will be looking for someone to blame besides themselves. Every market downturn has been accompanied by the disapearance of the small/discount players in RE because there business models dont work when it gets tougher. We know what the real margins are in RE and it aint nearly as pretty as what the general public thinks.
As for the legal defense you are correct. I have a family to support and a fairly significant net worth to protect. It’s not a risk i’m willing to assume. You must be less risk averse than me.
August 4, 2006 at 10:33 PM #30761Participantsdrealtor your statements and style have an interesting quality to them.
I have compiled the questions/points I posed to you throughout this thread. If you would like to answer them, they are reposted in this reply for your convenience.
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Doesn’t it bother you at all to have your own profession held in contempt by a large segment of the population?
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I am not saying realtors don’t work hard because some of them do. However how has the industry revolutionized itself over the past 30 or 40 years? What has justified the tremendous increase in revenues of participants in that industry? While your commission percentage stays the same you would have no doubt made much more money year over year for the past 6 years if you made the same number of sales correct?*********
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So agreed the main factor is how much does additional market make. So if say there is a brokerage that will do everything a full service brokerage does except brokers tours and open house but that they do it for 1% commission as opposed to 3%. So is that to say that these two facets add a full 2% value to the client who uses a full service brokerage? I am not trying to be flippant. As an engineer I am anal about numbers so I am just trying to do the math.
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Anyways if you would like to answer them in a direct manner great. If not that is okay as well.
August 4, 2006 at 11:34 PM #30766ParticipantSD ,
Its a blog and thats they way these things go. I always shot from the hip and try not to sugar coat anything. I’m not here shilling for clients so my intentions are pure. It doesnt bother me to be in a profession that many hold in contempt. What others do is outside my control and there are crooks in every business. I sleep well knowing that I always try to put my clients interests first and believe (as you probably do also) that the rest will take care of itself. I am annoyed by the incompetence of many in our profession but most of those are short timers and should be out of or hair soon. If you are not providing real value to clients you shouldnt be in this business. I think we can both agree with that.***********
Lots has changed in this industry. Talk to someone whose been around for 20 years to hear about the mls books, the contracts that protected no one and the lack of disclosures. The industry isnt perfect, far from it, but there are quality people in this business (I know many) who do a great job for their clients. While the compensation/sale has grown substantially, the number of people chasing the sales has grown at a much more rapid pace. Many of them deliver no value to their clients. If the volume was there, quality agents would be willing to work for less, but the current state of the industry make it difficult if not impossible for them to survive.
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I believe a quality agent is worth more and believe I earn my money. I have clients with RE licenses that could represent themselves but chose to pay for what they believe is better representation. To me that says alot. Furthermore, this business does not work at 1% unless you are a niche player exploiting a niche. Many of the top brokerages in the county with the best agents are struggling to survive with 2.5%. The creme of the crop are barely eaking out a profit. If I damage my client and disapear from the business there is someone to hold accountable. If you do the same your clients will be left on their own. -
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