Listings are Almost Worthless to a Realtor

[lostkitty]

Yes, while it is true that some listings ARE selling… Selling them at these prices is akin to selling a shirt at Nordstrom’s today that you know will be on-sale next week for half-off. Must be difficult to do with a clear conscience. Granted, they come looking for you, and you are just doing your job, but still……

[powayseller]

The level of detail given in this post leaves no doubt you are indeed busy. Congratulations to you. My realtor friend has 3 closings by the end of May, and is really happy about the spike in activity. So you and she are getting more of the share of sales. Way to go!

[sdappraiser]

Lostkitty,

Were you singing the same tune 2-3 years ago when values were increasing 2-3% per month, almost every month, in almost every area in San Diego?

Were those agents then low balling their listing clients by pricing and selling their homes well below what they knew they would sell for in just a few weeks time?

Its econ 101 people, supply and demand. Do you also blame those darn stock brokers, they keep pushing the market up. How can they sleep at night knowing the market might correct next week?

I’ve never actually seen an agent holding a gun to a buyer’s head. If its that common, I’m sure Rich has a chart somewhere.

[sdduuuude]

“Must be difficult to do with a clear conscience.”

Oh, come on. Blaming a realtor for the decisions of their clients is just ridiculous. Both clients – buyers and sellers – work very hard to make the deal go through. It is a pain. If the buyers didn’t really want to buy, they wouldn’t.

This is like blaming an alcoholic’s problems on the liquor store.

I hope his conscience is clear.

[sdduuuude]

PS – think of it this way.

When sales are up and the market is flying, making a sale is easy. Even lame realtors can make sales when the market is flying. People are less inclined to really shop for a realtor and as we all know, many realtors will overprice.

When the market turns, good realtors have a significant advantage over the herd.

If a realtor knows how to price in a down market and can get sellers (his own, or a seller for his buyer) to come down to reality, and he is networked with other agents who can do the same, he is going to get deals through, and could have a banner year while others simply hope for the good times to return and fall out of the industry.

You have to give him credit for recognizing the down market and helping his buyers make decisions based on that market. I don’t know why you bag on him. I think he’s got this market wired and is serving his clients well.

[sdduuuude]

I think what you are missing is that he reads this forum and others don’t. It means he has some insight into the market (not just from this forum, but because he takes time to dig into the numbers) and pays attention and understands and admits the market is turning. You have to give him credit for that.

Where are the other x-thousand realtors? How come they aren’t here? They are out there – overpricing their properties and getting killed.

As far as qualifying buyers – my guess is his market isn’t Chula Vista. As Casagrand has pointed out as a reason for the health median price – the upper end of the market is still quite healthy. If his market is in a higher end neighborhood…

As far as your numbers go – perhaps in an up market, 50% of the realtors make 80% of the money, but in a down market only 20% of the realtors make 80% of the money (just a guess – completely made up numbers). If so, one of the 20% could have a good year.

[lostkitty]

I think the stock market comparison is ludicrous. Buying a home for your family and buying some stocks are not the same at all.

If you re-read my post, I did not in any way suggest that realtors are holding guns to people’s heads.

I think the shifty loans made this mess possible/ realtors facilitated it. However, I maintain that, for me anyway, it would be difficult to sell a property TODAY in San Diego knowing that the forecast is grim.

[zk]

Lostkitty,

You say, “Selling them at these prices is akin to selling a shirt at Nordstrom’s today that you know will be on-sale next week for half-off,” and then imply that it should therefore cause problems for their conscience.

It seems to me that the mistake being made here is the implication that the realtor (or anyone else for that matter) knows what’s going to happen to prices. Nobody knows. Plenty of serious, unbiased economists don’t foresee a serious drop in prices. If a person spends all day on websites devoted to a perceived looming correction, and hears opinions which mostly conform to that idea, then that person isn’t really getting the whole picture. You can find reasonable opinions for both a rise and a fall in the future price of any investment, from oil to gold to stocks to shirts at Nordstrom’s. Are sellers of these investments also lacking ethics?

To imply that every realtor should “know” that prices will go down significantly and that therefore they are morally lacking if they sell real estate is very unfair.

[powayseller]

If they don’t know, they’re clueless. And that’s the problem. Too many clueless realtors running around.

The guy I wrote about, Chris, a Prudential realtor from the , wrote a 2006-2010 CA RE Market Forecast, which shows RE prices in CA dropping until 2010. He works with local RE investors, who are advised to offload their depreciating CA properties and doing a 1031 exchange into other markets, until the CA corection is done. As far as local buyers, he advises them to buy only if they can handle losing a ton of equity, can ride out the downturn, and get a fixed rate mortgage. Now this is a guy I can trust!

I also trust Bob Casagrand, who acts as a consultant in transactions. He’s as sharp as they come, and has managed companies in Saudi Arabia and Europe. He understands financing and economic cycles, and cares about the people, not just making a quick buck. He makes sure his buyers can afford their house for the long term.

Yes, there are some good ones out there.

[zk]

If they don’t know prices are going down, they’re clueless?

PS, your certainty, while to some admirable, is merely your certainty. It is not a certainty in reality. As I said, plenty of unbiased economists don’t see a serious downturn.

To say that somebody is clueless because they don’t share your certainty is not fair.

[sdrealtor]

In this world there are many types of people. Some tend to be extremists. Personally, I tend to be a middle of the road guy and try to look at everything from both points of view. I have always had a real problem with extremists as they are the cause of alot of strife in this world. With that said, to each his/her own. Everyone’s entitled to their opinion.

[powayseller]

Fair enough. However, a 30-yr veteran realtor who tells me that prices have never gone down in Poway and therefore never will, or David Lereah saying prices will go up 6% this year when they’re already down, is plain dishonest.

[sdrealtor]

Prices certainly have come down in Poway at times over the last 30 years however nationally prices will go up 6% might be accurate. the problem of ourse is that there is no national real estate market just lots of micro markets.

[powayseller]

Has David Lereah ever admitted that prices may go down 5-10% in bubble markets? I mean, they’ve already come down. The Poway realtor I spoke to outright lied to me about Poway historical prices.

At least you’re honest about the price drops. I wish more of your colleagues were too.

[sdrealtor]

Unfortunately too many of them have their heads in the sand or even worse up their………

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