Those of you familiar with the work of Elisabeth Kubler-Ross will recognize the parallels from her extensive research on grieving in the following post.

With great respect (and apologies) for Elisabeth Kubler-Ross, I have taken many liberties to correlate her research with the stages of grief many sellers experience in a declining market:

Kubler-Ross established Five Stages of Grief: (as experienced by sellers)

DENIAL

• This can’t be happening ~ the market can’t possibly being going soft when I want to sell.
• My home is the nicest home in my subdivision.
• I know my home is worth more than the identical home that just sold down the street.
• I am not going to give my home away.
• I do not have to sell.
• Geez ~ that first Realtor^® I spoke with about listing my home sure was negative!

ANGER

• What’s wrong with all of those idiot Realtors^®?
• What’s wrong with all of those stupid buyers who won’t look at my home?
• Why doesn’t my Realtor^® get more people to look at my home?
• Why do prospective buyers walk in and out of my home in five minutes?
• Why have people pulled 400 flyers from the flyer box, yet no one looks at my home?
• Why doesn’t someone just make an offer?
• Why doesn’t my Realtor^® hold an open house every day of the week?
• Why doesn’t my Realtor^® run a full-page ad of my home with me standing in the driveway?
• I need to change Realtors^® and find one who is more “positive”!

BARGAINING

• Please ~ just bring me an offer and I will negotiate!
• Perhaps I should listen to my Realtor^® and reduce my price?
• I promise to be good if someone will just buy my home before it goes into foreclosure.

DEPRESSION

• No one is ever going to make an offer on my home.
• If I had listened to my first Realtor^®, I could have sold my home for more than I will get now.
• Maybe I need to reduce my asking price for the 4^th time.
• I may be stuck here forever.

ACCEPTANCE

• I am ready to swallow my pride and take a lower offer than the one I refused six months ago.
• Please Lord; just bring me an offer so I can get out of here?
• My first Realtor^® was right ~ a good price is the best marketing tool!

1. They hand out refrigerator magnets and calendars.
2. They don’t put flyers in their flyer boxes.
3. They bulk-mail ghost-written newsletters with recipes.
4. They have “Million Dollar Producer” license frames on their fancy cars.
5. They brag about being “#1″ and having the biggest “team”.
6. They don’t have a website/you can’t find their website/their website requires registration.
7. They focus on “closing the sale” instead of informing and advising.
8. They have memorized “scripts” to overcome objections.
9. They spew “think positive” talk as though that will cause a buyer to pay more or a seller to take less.
10. They often have less training than your barber, cosmetologist, hairdresser, or esthetician.

Would you do business with your physician, CPA, or attorney if they conducted themselves this way?

Archaeologists were called in to examine suspected human remains after work was halted on a new development during site preparation and grading.

Experts feared the remains might be those of a prehistoric civilization, thereby threatening further development of the master-planned 75,000-home development featuring cozy, intimate neighborhoods.

After exhaustive analysis and research, including carbon-dating of the remains, experts have concluded that the remains are those of a real estate market forecaster.

(turn your speakers up)