Socratt there are many times where the agent will make a pricing recommendation only to be totally rebuffed by the seller. That may very well have bene the case here. Also the agent may take the listing for plenty of reasons. First off, he gets to add the listing to his portfolio. Having this listing is a tremendous advertising source for him. He gets to hold open houses and try to find buyers. Forget about the fact that the home will never sell at that price. He can hold his open house, get contact numbers for people coming over to look at the home, and call them Monday morning and try to become the buyers agent. Furthermore he knows that okay, the home will not sell, but eventually the sellers will reduce the price.
I had a listing appt today. One for a small home in a nicer part of town. It has been listed for a few month with Prudential and priced in an absolute preposterous manner. The client said the Prudential agent was an old friend of hers…. I cannot tell you how many times I have heard this. When I showed the lady all of the data over the past year including the expireds cancelleds and withdrawns she was very much taken aback as she said she was never told or shown all the raw data.
I had another email exchange with a seller today. I have cut and pasted it below. Warning it is very long but it captures the essence of what I have been saying a long long time… Many sellers just don’t get it even when agents do educate them. I know most everyone here thinks us agents are the root of all even… well as much as you all lambaste potential buyers today for buying, when everyone complains about pricing not dropping fast enough, save some ire for the sellers…
Here is the lengthy email exchange… to summarize the seller was adamant that his home was worth 450-500k…sorry it is so long but I think it captures exactly what I face ALL THE TIME…I xxx out the persons name to protect the innocent, or shall I say the guilty… I left my name in…
*************
Adam thanks,
I totally agree what you said, I’m in no hurry either but would like to try
if possible. thanks
XXXX
—– Original Message —–
From: “Adam xxxxx”
To: “longtraveljeep”
Sent: Tuesday, August 14, 2007 9:01 AM
Subject: Re: Seller/List Your Home Information Request
> Hi xxxx –
>
> Please understand it is not that I don’t want to sell your house. Also the
> other listings in the 360-410 range are TOTALLY beat up, I absolutely
> agree with you.
>
> Here is my point… Out of the 52 active properties for sale, there are
> homes that are nicer then yours, there are homes that are not as nice as
> yours… my point is that NONE of them are moving… nice or not nice…
> Only 5 homes between 1250 and 1750 sq feet are in escrow right now. This
> is what doesn’t register with most people. Nothing is going into escrow
> right now, nice or not nice, unless there is something that makes the
> house a great deal, whether it is pricing, location, amenities, school
> districts, etc…. You see what I am saying? I am sure your home is very
> nice and I saw plenty of others that were active for sale that were very
> nice. However why haven’t those homes sold? Why are they not in escrow?
> Why is only 1 in 10 homes going into escrow right now?
>
>
> Think about this…we are in the midst of the LARGEST foreclosure run we
> have ever had. The number of foreclosures in this cycle are MATCHING the
> number of foreclosures in the 91-97 decline. In that decline foreclosures
> peaked in 97, 6 years into the cycle. In our decline we are 1.5 years in
> and we have already matched it! Lenders are cancelling loan programs
> including 2/28 ARMs, 100% stated income loans, 3/27 ARMs, I can go on and
> on. This is severely whittling down the number of perspective buyers out
> there. Speculators and flippers of homes, they are gone…
>
> The main point I am making is that the sheer number of buyers is
> shrivelling up. The psychology of the market is square opposite of what it
> used to be.
>
> The “value” of your home may indeed be in the 450-500k range but the
> market will determine what it sells for and when market fundamentals
> change rapidly, value will change. The thing is, this is not about your
> home, it is about a severe change that we are going through here in San
> Diego, much moreso then nationwide because we ran up much faster. So we
> will have a harder fall and we are just now hitting the steep part of the
> curve.
>
> I would be more then happy to attempt to sell your home, I just am trying
> to be realistic and give you a real picture of what is happening out
> there. Many agents would have already signed you up, put you under
> contract, shook your hand and looked you square in the eye and said, no
> problem Mark, we will get 450-500k. Then 3 months later they say, well I
> guess the market has changed or it is the dead of winter lets try again in
> the spring…I would rather be very honest up front. If you don’t list
> with me it is okay… Other agents may tell you I am like chicken little
> and the sky is falling but lets see how things play out. I don’t make up
> rules or speculate. I look at the data and interpet it for what it is, not
> what it may be or what it has been.
>
> Adam
>> Adam thanks,
>> again the house that are in the 360-410k are pretty beat up….. i have a
>> nice little house with all the up grades the laudrey room is huge also
>> could
>> be a den…. New Kich,bath,central air,irrigation,alarm,windows,hardhood
>> floor etc… but if you dont want to sell my house that okay with me
>> also.
>> xxxxxx
>> —– Original Message —–
>> From: “Adam xxxxxx”
>> To: “longtraveljeep”
>> Sent: Tuesday, August 14, 2007 12:12 AM
>> Subject: Re: Seller/List Your Home Information Request
>>
>>
>>> Hi xxxx –
>>>
>>> I have reviewed the data pretty thoroughly. Again, one thing that is
>>> important to me is the number of bedrooms. Do you have an office or den?
>>> Were there additions made to the home that accounted for the extra
>>> square
>>> footage?
>>>
>>> One thing that you may want to consider is listing for your friend at
>>> that
>>> 450-500k range. If he said that he could do it for 4.5% commission then
>>> I
>>> would go with that.
>>>
>>> Unfortunately I could not list your home for more then 410k based on the
>>> data that I see. As the market continues to deteriorate I cannot
>>> underscore the need for people to price in an aggressive manner.
>>> Otherwise
>>> they will end up chasing the market down or not selling at all.
>>>
>>> Let me know what you think. I am sorry that the market is in the
>>> condition
>>> that it is in.
>>>
>>> Adam
>>>
>>>
>>>> I tought you said you had allot of onfo for my area…. also my house
>>>> should be between 450-500……..let me know…
>>>> —– Original Message —–
>>>> From: “Adam xxxxxx”
>>>> To:
>>>> Sent: Monday, August 13, 2007 5:59 PM
>>>> Subject: Re: Seller/List Your Home Information Request
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>> Hi Mark –
>>>>>
>>>>> Hey you said you had comps that would support a sales price of 450k
>>>>> for
>>>>> your home. Can you send them to me or send me the addresses for those
>>>>> homes? Unfortunately your home as listed on the tax roll is a 2/2 home
>>>>> and
>>>>> I am having a hard time getting comps that will support a sales price
>>>>> in
>>>>> that range. Also a major problem is that the foreclosure rate in lemon
>>>>> grove is high. This not only drags down comps but it makes lenders
>>>>> reluctant to lend money to buyers who want to buy homes in that area.
>>>>>
>>>>> Please send me any information you have.
>>>>>
>>>>> ar
>>>>>
