[sdrealtor]

On top of that, the 5% might only have been a marketing fee with separate commissions payable to the auction company. they were offering 1% broker coops so who knows how much the auction compnay got on top of the 5%.

[sdrealtor]

SD R,
I’m just relaying what I heard. I think part of it was him being territorial if you know what I mean. Some of the ones on the mls were up as short sales for a while but then as REO’s for a short time.

I think the real message I take from our conversation was that this was truly a marketing gimmick as I hypothesized a few weeks ago. From what I understand, the auction was very expensive for the lenders and their hope was that with all the exposure they could unload them for full retail and maybe even get lucky on some above retail.

sdr

[sdrealtor]

Hes defintely not in denial of the market though I suspect he doesnt like the auction thing because it competes with what he does. Here’s an example of what he said. A condo coversion in UTC on Nobel sold for $240K (this is from my foggy memory so i could be off a little) and the builder is selling them for $310K.

Remember, to us $25,000 isnt nearly enough for them to drop from current market rates but from the bank’s perspective it could be an unecessary $25,000 loss which is real money to them.

[sdrealtor]

Ozman,
PD is correct in that peak pricing hit different areas at different times. In your hood it was Spring/Summer 2004. By the way, there is a house on Calle Oliva (I’m sure you know which one) that sold for 1.35M in 2004 and resold for 1.16M last year. Throw in 3 years of inflation at 3 to 4% and that looks like a real (not nominal) loss of around 30%.

[sdrealtor]

W/O killing myself over this, additional marketing includes Magazine Quality professionally taken photographs that get people excited about coming to see the property, its choosing the right photos that give them enough information to get excited but not too much that they feel they have already seen it all and dont rush out to see it, its a well marketed open house the first week you go on the market with newspaper ads/online ads/email marketing/neighborhood networking, its professional quality brochures, its an agent that understands what makes the property unique and is able to convery that in the marketing so as to draw in a targeted audience, it is realtor caravans with 100 top producing agents walking through the property the day it hits the market who usually generate 2 or 3 showings of the property within 24 hours. Its having 30 REAL potential buyers bumping into each other the first week the property is on the market and feeling uneasy that they might miss out on something special. Its paying a professional stager to get the house set up to show its best when all this happens. It is all this and more at an out of pocket cost to me in excess of $2,000 before hitting the market while taking a chance that I might not ever see that money again. I look at the listing of a house as if I was launching a new version of Coke. Doing everything at once and right generates excitment around a listing and gives you the best opportunity to sell quickly and for top dollar.

BTW, I know that most agents charging full service fees dont do this and arent capable of understanding this. I agree that SD R that it is important to know what you are paying for. I disagree on the point of being able to provide real statistics on what has worked in the past. The sample sizes for a given agent are just too small and you just dont know what is going to work each time. I’m a big believer in top of the line marketing and service. I believe I’m worth it and that my clients get a reasonable return on their investment.

[sdrealtor]

Its coming. I also promised another reader some more info on CV so I’ll try to add that today.

[sdrealtor]

The funny thing is that I heard most of the lenders are pissed. The fees they paid the auction company were steep and it does not seem to be a big win for them. Check the Foreclosure Auction frenzy thread for more…

[sdrealtor]

I just spoke with a very experienced REO guy who went to the auction and stayed for the whole thing. He had researched every property and had a realistic expectation of what they would sell for in the current market. He was also sitting with clients from the major lenders who owned the properties. here’s his take:

The lenders were NOT HAPPY with the prices they got and were testing this out. Doing it again is not a given for them.

In many cases, the prices they got at auction were about 5 to 20% below what the REO guy felt he could have sold them for on the open market. We went over several and he said they left 25K to 75K on the table in those cases.

With the 5% buyers premium, the buyers didnt get huge bargains either.

[sdrealtor]

AN
I take it you are kidding. there are no perfect laboratory settings in the real world. As I said to SD R, you dont know what is going to work so your best option is to do everything and to do it all right the first time.

sdr

I think we should all go to bed now.

[sdrealtor]

I pretty much limit myself to lisitngs in North County not just my submarket. I wont go to East County, South Bay or Temecula but I would go to RB (used to live there and know it very well), San Marcos, Vista, Oceanside etc.

Dealing with the mess that other agents create can be challenging. I press my clients to focus on what is selling and what prices are being paid in the market today not what others listings are priced at. I explain that I dont know everything and that some people get lucky though it is increasingly rare. I’m ask them whether they want to sellers or gamblers?

I dont think it is doing one thing right that makes a difference be it price, marketing or anything else. It’s easy for limited service guys to discount the value of marketing but the truth is we never know what will work and what will be the cause of a sale. In a market like this, I think it requires doing EVERYTHING right out of the gate to give yourself the best opportunity to succeed. The amount of money our clients pay us whether its 1%, 3% or anyhting in between is HUGE and they deserve the best.

[sdrealtor]

AN
You are right on target! We are in a declining market so what I am talking about is a current strategy. When the market was climbing, I did things very differently.
sdr

[sdrealtor]

AN,
If you price it right out of the gate and market it right out of the gate you can create a sense of urgency among buyers @ 0 DOM. You can’t do that @ 100 DOM. It’s not just selling it quickly, it’s selling it quickly at the highest possible price.

sdr

[sdrealtor]

I have also seen many properties poorly positioned on the market and completely mis-marketed by agents at companies large and small. It kinda sounds like your saying I’m hitting softballs. However, I’ve sold listings in undesireable areas too. One in particular had two major issues occur within 1 block of the house when it was on the market. I’m talking bout police, swat teams and riot gear on every news station and in every newspaper right before and during the short listing period. Mine sold very quickly while others languished on the market for over 1 year. Sorry but I don’t agree and think I can prove it.

There is absolutely nothing that price cant fix and it is best to fix it b4 you hit the market. That is perhaps my greatest strength. With a workable price out of the gate and top notch marketing you give yourself the best chance for success.

I have had the privilege of working with some of the greatest marketing minds in the world, yes the world including Sr Vp’s of marketing at Fortune 50 companies whose marketing has defined American Culture. They taught me many things I carry with me. First and foremost is that you only get one chance to be new. Don’t blow it!

I make sure all my clients understand this and many other vital marketing strategies. Feel free to use that one if you think it would help.

[sdrealtor]

I see it another way. If you take a property and expose it to the market with top notch marketing you will be able to sell it at the current market value. I havent had a problem selling my listings the last two years employing this very strategy. It’s not rocket science. Folks who have been trying to take shortcuts whether it is a less than top notch marketing effort, an above market price or a little of both havent been quite as successful taken as a whole.

[sdrealtor]

I think they were just havin fun with ya!

[Author]

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