Selling Your Home

As this market continues to shake out and the economy remains soft, it is logical that listing clients want to minimize expenses. The siren song of the discount brokers draws them in with promises of great savings, but the results are often anything but. Ironically, “Buy Owner” is currently on the fast track to bankruptcy which really is not all that surprising – CLICK HERE

The idea of sticking a sign in the ground and a home on the MLS and calling it marketing is long gone. Although an antiquated approach, many listing clients and agents still expect results from doing just that. Every year, the use of the internet increases and buyer habits change; agents must adjust. The number of qualified and willing buyers has dropped dramatically while the listing inventory has soared. Add to the mix the lure of foreclosures and bank owned homes, and it is easy to see how a listing can quickly fall into an abyss.

It is vital to stress that successfully selling a home in this market is predicated upon three key things:

PRICE / EXPOSURE / APPEAL

It’s accurate to say that if any one of those is out of sync the home will struggle at best and fail to sell at worst. A strong case can be made that the single most important is PRICE; it is also the sole aspect completely in control of the listing client. There is but one single guarantee in this market; listing clients that do not acknowledge and base expectations on the current data will not sell their home. The market cares not about what listing clients “need to get”, what “they have in it” or “what they think”. The market cares only about what comparable properties have very recently sold for. Coincidentally, that is the same thing that the appraiser that will care about – and they will be completely disinterested in everything except attempting to valid the contract price.

Listing clients that we represent benefit from a number of exclusive advantages:

  • Use of a comprehensive and deep marketing plan that exploits the internet and puts listings where the buyers are.
  • Use of multiple agent websites, blogs and social media sites exposing the listing.
  • Presentation of the home in a manner consistent with what buyers demand; plenty of pictures, narrative, statistics, etc.
  • The most comprehensive prelisting analysis in the market. Potential listings are analyzed several ways, including well beyond what the appraiser will do.
  • Persuasive negotiation skills that are bolstered by data. Once the buyer commits emotionally, the supporting data is used to demonstrate and drive home the value proposition.
  • Comprehensive review of all offers and detailed counter offer strategies…all based upon sound data analysis. Trends, statistics and forecasts will be used to develop a counter that maintains the advantage for the listing client.
  • Contract to close service will be provided to all listing clients, there is one point of contact handling the contract.

At best, selling a home in this market is a challenge, listing clients that fail to properly and thoroughly research prospective agents are making a hard task more difficult. There is no substitute for experience; you are hiring the agent, not the firm. Firm recognition is very important, but the most important aspect of a successful sale is the tenacity and skill of the agent.

The very first and single most important question asked of any agent under consideration should be:

Please show me your total personal production volume for the last two to three years. Hank's current summary is HERE

As noted throughout this site, experience matters.