No Showings in 4 years!

 

Is it possible a seller could have their property on the market for over 4 years with 7 different agents and still remain clueless about the real reason it never sold? A few days ago I met that seller in Chandler, Arizona.

 

She called our office due to a postcard she received after her listing expired with a prior agent. After viewing her home I asked why she felt the property remained unsold. She began to ramble about inexperienced agents and inferior marketing. I asked how many showing she had received in the past four years. “None”, she replied!

 

At that moment I felt I entered the ‘Realty Twilight Zone’. Zero, zilch, nada, no showings in four years? Maybe, this was a joke one of my Realtor friends was playing on me. Maybe I was on ‘Realty Candid Camera’ this very moment. Or, was it possible this seller was ‘clueless in Chandler’ about the pitfalls of overpricing?

 

Since the seller was seated, and there were no firearms in sight, I asked if she wanted me to be “kind or honest”? “Of course I want honesty”, she said. “The lack of activity, or, activity with no offers, are both signs of overpricing. You have been chasing the market for the past four years. And, like the tide it is still receding”, I said.

 

Have you ever seen a deer stare at an oncoming vehicle? This seller had that amazed glaze in her eyes. A combination of dejection and rejection was on her face as she began to argue her points. I mentioned that the house would not appraise. She replied a cash buyer would not need an appraisal. I noted the lack of cash buyers in that price range. She told me anything was possible.

 

Then a light flashed in my mind. I thought who is the fool in this room. In my opinion, this seller was not ‘serious about selling’, and any more discussion would be a waste of my time. I smiled, stood up and thanked her for discussing her lovely home.

 

As I walked to my car I remembered the wise words of the ‘Realty Ninja Turtles’. You can win any fight by avoiding people who want wrestle with reality, and resist your reasoning.