<p>Getting a deal done means meeting most of the seller’s needs. In order to have them buy your house rather than the other 200 on the market in your price range a little “insider” info helps move things along and helps provide a mutually satisfying transaction. If you agent is just putting it out there and waiting for a buyer you might have a long wait. Is that what you want? Works the same in hot markets. It helps the seller if the agent lets the potential buyer know there are multiple offers expected or already in. Buyer is more likely to really give the best shot if he wants the place badly. That gets the seller more $$$.</p>
<p>"If you agent is just putting it out there and waiting for a buyer you might have a long wait. Is that what you want? "</p>
<p>If the value added “salesmanship” that an agent is expected to provide is insider information about previous bids and the seller’s current thinking about those bids, then no, I’d rather go FSBO.</p>
<p>How long do you think a car salesman would last if he told a prospective buyer what the sales manager allowed the previous cars to be sold for? If providing that kind of information moves more car sales and increases profits, then the sales manager would post it in the show room.</p>
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<p>In today’s market it is rare for multiple offers…if they exist it is usually b/c the property was at a low ball price.</p>
<p>I have a problem with that theory…my client will curse me everyday, and I will never get a referral…true success of any Realtor, we farm (tend to the seeds you sow and you will have a beautiful crop)</p>
<p>I am employed for multiple reasons:
~Show properties
~ Write Contracts
~Home Inspections
~Mtg/Title/Closing liasion
~Hold your hand while you go through every emotion and fear possible
~ THE BEST: HAND THE KEYS TO YOUR NEW HOME AND SEE YOUR SMILE</p>
<p>That’s why I said–“In hot markets”. They will come back you know. </p>
<p>Most of my real estate selling experience was in the multi-million $$ commercial property market. We alays let buyers know we were getting multiple offers and had lots of interest so they should sharpen their pencil and make their best offer. I think it’s very effective and got us prices at the top of the range. No, you don’t tell them exact numbers but you might say–we are looking north of $50 Million so they don’t waste their time and yours if they are not a player.</p>
<p>Commercial property is totally different. I have not dipped my toes in that pool. My specialty is FINE HOMES AND ESTATES. In our area commercial is priced differently (sqft) and the realtors I know do 1-2 deals a yr. b/c there is alot more involved (market analysis, county codes, zoning ordinances…etc). Of course they also have a different commission rate, and 1 acquisition = my entire yr commission. I have co-workers in my office who have specialized in this field and get amazing comissions, but to be honest, it is not my cup of tea, and when we discuss contracts it is a learning experience for both of us. </p>
<p>I deal with inspections, mtg companies and title search, they deal with county codes, evaluation periods for market analysis, area analysis, lease options, etc</p>
<p>FF, a lot of the real estate data (comps) is already out there. Where a real estate agent can be useful is in interpreting the data and bracketing value. Some of it is science, some of it is art, like a sailor being out on the water being acutely aware of the combination of wind, current, and sail settings.</p>
<p>One of my goals in negotiations is to get the two parties out of the mode of “This is what I want to pay” vs. “This is what I need to get.” The market doesn’t care a rat’s ass about either question but you <em>can</em> use market data to bracket value. [If anyone gives you a point value for a property, they’re lying through their teeth. Value is what an uncoerced Buyer can be expected to pay at the time from an uncoerced Seller and is always in a range…there are just too many variables.] If you get the parties discussing value, you’re well on the way to making a deal.</p>
<p>Current story. I currently have a condo listing originally taken in October. When I listed it, the most recent sale–before the August sub-prime meltdown–was at point $X. But I looked at the market, the pattern of sales and the level of activity told me that it should be listed at $X minus $45K. The Sellers decided to list at $X minus $9K. Agents give advice, clients make decisions. Several weeks with no offers and we reduced by $30K. After several more weeks, still no offers. Reduced another $15K–down to my original suggested listing price–and immediately the number of showings and second showings surged. Got an offer after about two weeks.</p>
<p>There is a lot I can tell from the tempo and quality of the showings I do. I know within a couple of weeks maximum if a property is over priced in terms of market perception. I start accumulating the objections, noting which ones are “curable” by a price reduction and which aren’t. [Actually, every thing is curable by a price reduction if necessary…even if the property is across the street from a fire station and next to a general aviation airport…yes, I’ve sold one of those.]</p>
<p>There is a value, particularly in <em>this</em> market, in selectively releasing some information about the Sellers, with their permission, to coax an offer. I would never, for instance, market a property with the words “Motivated Seller!” or anything like that on a flyer or MLS description. But engaging in conversations with potential Buyers who are “real” with respect to your listing, it can be quite appropriate to do so. </p>
<p>Example: are they flexible on the price? </p>
<p>Standard book answer: you really can’t tell until you put down an offer on paper. </p>
<p>Acceptable alternate answer: they have a baby and are in escrow to buy a bigger house, so they are motivated but they aren’t going to be crazy. </p>
<p>Result: An offer $30K under asking price, accepted at a counter-offer $15K under asking.</p>
<p>Another observation about value: someone once told me, after looking at a property, that the average Buyer wouldn’t pay the listing price. I agreed. But the point is, any Buyer who writes an offer likes the property more than the average Buyer and thus will pay more than the average Buyer. As to what’s a likable property, it’s a case of one man’s Mede is another man’s Persian.</p>
<p>Real estate is a funny business. It’s certainly adversarial between Buyer and Seller but of necessity it must also be cooperative for a deal to work. A real estate deal is like a marriage that lasts 30-60 days and a scorched earth approach to negotiations often backfires. I’ve had an attorney client or two who had trouble with the concept of “adversarial but also cooperative.”</p>