Would you select your REALTOR® from a “For Sale” sign?

Many REALTORS® believe that the more of their “For Sale” signs there are in the eye of the public, the more successful it will make them appear.

So there are certain REALTORS® who will accept the owner’s price, or just about any price, just to get the listing (and the “For Sale” sign placed).  In the real estate industry this action of the “highest bidder” is known as, “buying a listing”.

More than 70% of today’s real estate market involves Generation “Y” and “X”, and they conduct most of their research online, paying little attention to “For Sale” signs.

Seeing lots of “For Sale” signs for a particular REALTOR® should not be relied upon as social proof, or in any way whatsoever, in fact looks can be deceptive.

One key question the “X” & “Y” generations insist on knowing the answer to is how many unsold listings the REALTOR® has had the past 3 or 4 years. What could be more important for a Seller to know?

The goal of the homeowner is to sell, and not just list, so an expired listing is a failure, and unfortunately “Top Producer” awards don’t consider how many failures were produced.

All REALTORS® have a legal and ethical obligation to be working in the best interest of the client; it’s called a fiduciary duty.  Taking an over-priced listing (at least based on my best judgment) would be a professional compromise that personally I’m not prepared to make, although others do, and regularly.

Occasionally I’m unable to justify what a Seller has proposed for a list price, and so are they. I’d rather turn that listing down now than to let them down later, and especially in a “Buyer’s Market”.

I have some more thoughts to share should you decide to list your home with the “highest bidder” (instead of me):

• When you complete the listing contract be sure to get a cancellation clause included, which can be invoked at your discretion. Although you’ll have to sign to list for 60 days, you might need to get out earlier.
• Next, make sure the highest bidder has a really pleasant looking “For Sale” sign because you’ll likely be looking at it for a while, just like all the others out there.
• By the sixth week the unsold listing starts to give buyers the impression that there is obviously something wrong. The listing is now referred to as “stale-dated” as it painfully approaches 60 days unsold.
• Make sure to have other REALTORS® thank you for helping to sell their listings.
• Soon you’ll be asked to reduce your list price to lower than what I had suggested in the first place. It isn’t fun chasing the market down.

The reality is your home hasn’t sold yet and it’s likely that your options and market value are now rapidly diminishing. I guess that marketing plan didn’t work!

I’ll still be here when you get serious about selling your home, but make sure you’ve cancelled the listing contract first before you call me.