Marry for Love.

Before I kick off this week I want to address my cynical competitors by saying I’m talking about the rule here, not the exceptions. The challenge regular folks face when speaking to agents is they only ever hear about the exceptions…why? Because they sound better. Most of the ‘non success’ stories get rolled up in a Persian rug and are made to ‘disappear.’

With that in mind I’ll start with a statement, most real estate reports are complete BS. They aren’t even reports, they are awkward sales pitches for listings in a market place that is much trickier than you are currently being led to believe.

I’ll give you an example of how this spin works from yours truly…

In the past 8 weeks my team has sold 20 properties. We set two new records. Most of the owners are delighted and we have been crushing it…stock is tight, buyers are desperate and it’s like Care Bear land out here.

Or…

This quarter we launched 25 properties and we haven’t been able to sell 5 of them. Many of the campaigns had to be extended and with 4 of them we had to reduce our initial price guide to meet the market. Of the sales only two were deemed hot enough to go all the way to auction (one of those passed in!). Some of our owners are delighted, relieved is probably a more apt description and some have been a bit disappointed. Despite stock being tight some properties aren’t selling, buyers are nervous and Care Bears don’t exist.

The problems start at the appraisal. Lots of desperate agents begging to be picked often leads to a sort of quasi pre market auction where the owners expectations get set at a level where no sign of human life has yet been discovered.

I’m speaking from personal experience. It’s really hard to go in for a listing, tell the truth and win the business. Like…really hard. The risk for being honest feels scary. The biggest liar gets the job…sadly that’s often the rule.

The best advice I can give to property owners looking to select an agent in the current market is to NOT focus on the appraisal amount. What you need to be choosing is a proven track record, an intelligent and thorough sales process and ideally a person that you feel you can trust. How can you trust them? A wonderful clue is if they are prepared to risk losing you by telling you the truth before they are hired.

When friends out of area are choosing an agent and ask my advice I always ask what the appraisals were, then I ask who did they feel more comfortable with? The funny thing is the rule is normally they felt more comfortable with the lower quoting agent but liked the sound of the higher price from the one that felt a bit dodgy/pushy.

Wanting more doesn't get you more, choosing wisely does.

Until next week,
David