Impersonating a Seller
Monday, December 15, 2008
Impersonating A Seller
A few days ago I cancelled a listing because I discovered a client impersonating a seller. The client complained about the lack of showings and offers but refused to implement my suggestion to lower the price.
Serious sellers aggressively price their properties to insure a steady stream of showings. Impersonators prefer to 'curse the darkness' rather than 'light a candle' by reducing the price.
Serious sellers realize 'it's a numbers game'. If the numbers are correct, buyers appear. They are committed to selling. Impersonators are emotionally involved in achieving a price, rather than selling at what the market will bear.
A few months ago, my former client fooled me into believing she was serious about selling. Due to a divorce, she said she needed to liquidate the property, downsize, and move on with her life. In retrospect, this meant if and only if she received a particular price.
An old Turkish proverb says, "As soon as you discover you are going down the wrong road, turn around". The modern real estate version of that proverb is that,
"As soon as a seller becomes inflexible and argumentative, remove the sign".
The Phoenix metro area has about 55,000 active residential properties. That is around a nine month supply. Over 40% of the sales are short sales and REO's. This is at least double the normal supply. If the impersonators would remove their houses from the market, it would help the market in general to improve.
This market also has an oversupply of licensees impersonating real estate agents. A real estate agent prospects (lead generation) every day. They have 'fierce conversations' with their clients. And, they reduce prices weekly rather than weakly asking for reductions.
When a tornado tears thru a town, inflexible girders can snap, but flexible trees sometimes remain to see another day. This market will improve. But until it does, both sellers and agents who are impersonators should remain on the sidelines.
A few days ago I cancelled a listing because I discovered a client impersonating a seller. The client complained about the lack of showings and offers but refused to implement my suggestion to lower the price.
Serious sellers aggressively price their properties to insure a steady stream of showings. Impersonators prefer to 'curse the darkness' rather than 'light a candle' by reducing the price.
Serious sellers realize 'it's a numbers game'. If the numbers are correct, buyers appear. They are committed to selling. Impersonators are emotionally involved in achieving a price, rather than selling at what the market will bear.
A few months ago, my former client fooled me into believing she was serious about selling. Due to a divorce, she said she needed to liquidate the property, downsize, and move on with her life. In retrospect, this meant if and only if she received a particular price.
An old Turkish proverb says, "As soon as you discover you are going down the wrong road, turn around". The modern real estate version of that proverb is that,
"As soon as a seller becomes inflexible and argumentative, remove the sign".
The Phoenix metro area has about 55,000 active residential properties. That is around a nine month supply. Over 40% of the sales are short sales and REO's. This is at least double the normal supply. If the impersonators would remove their houses from the market, it would help the market in general to improve.
This market also has an oversupply of licensees impersonating real estate agents. A real estate agent prospects (lead generation) every day. They have 'fierce conversations' with their clients. And, they reduce prices weekly rather than weakly asking for reductions.
When a tornado tears thru a town, inflexible girders can snap, but flexible trees sometimes remain to see another day. This market will improve. But until it does, both sellers and agents who are impersonators should remain on the sidelines.
