Musical Listing Agents
It’s amusing to watch sellers continually changing listing agents in our current market.
They list with ABC Realty at a 2005 price, then re-list with XYZ Realty 90 days later at the same price and blame their *&%$#@*^%$ listing agent because their home didn’t sell.
I’m even seeing some of those sellers increase their price when they list with their 2nd or 3rd listing agent!
Tragically, those sellers continue to make their mortgage payments month after month, taking their loss on the monthly installment plan, instead of facing reality.
In this market, the longer their home is on the market, the less they are likely to get.
Sellers need to figure out that listing agents can’t force buyers to look at their listings.
It’s usually not about the listing agent; it’s all about price and condition.
Granted, there are some flaky listing agents in this market, and if they can’t figure out how to return a phone call or keep flyers in the flyer box, they deserve to be replaced.
But, that often isn’t the case.
The twin culprits are usually price and condition, not the listing agent.
Buyers are still buying in this market, but they’re only buying the best homes at the best prices.
If you are a seller, you have less than a 1 in 10 chance of selling in any given month, so you’d better do everything right if you want to sell.
The buyers are the ones who are calling the shots.
That’s why it’s called a “buyer’s market.
May 1st, 2008 Posted in Seller Stuff
Print This Post
