Should You Renew Your Real Estate Listing?
Let's say you've had your house on the market for months and nobody's bought it. Six months have passed and your real estate listing is about to expire. Most likely that expiration is okay with you because by now you're so upset with your real estate agent that you're ready to fire him anyway.
"Okay," you say to yourself, "the real estate market has slowed and prices are getting lower. Still, in Pinellas County during May there were 1,071 single family homes sold and 481 condominiums. That proves there are still buyers out there!" Given that set of circumstances you have every right to ask why those people bought other properties and not yours. Is it something you did? Or is it the fault of your real estate agent? Or, is it just the market?
Let's take a brief look at each of these things and see why you've had no luck selling, why your listing is about to expire and what you can do to correct the situation and get your house sold.
First, let's look at market conditions. If you read this blog regularly or if you read the newspaper or listen to the news, you already know that the real estate market is softening and that prices are coming down. That's the current market trend and every marketing expert in this country will tell you that you can't swim upstream against a market trend. If people aren't buying all you can do is to be patient and wait for the market to improve. In the meantime, keep your fingers crossed that a buyer will come along. Market conditions are beyond the control of your real estate agent and beyond your control as well.
Next, is it your fault? Well, it might be. This is where you have to sit back and do an honest, objective analysis of your own performance in trying to sell your property. I've seen many instances in which the seller was his own worst enemy in trying to sell the property. Did you price the property fairly given today's market conditions? Or, did you overprice it hoping to make a few extra dollars? Did you offer a high enough commission to provide an incentive for buyer's agents to bring prospective buyers to see your property? Or, did you make the agent cut the commission and take away the selling incentive? Did you take care to maximize your property's appearance and condition so that buyers felt favorable toward your property? Or, did you put it on the market with peeling paint and a yard full of weeds? Were you willing to negotiate in good faith and strive to create a win-win situation with the buyers? Or, did you dig in your heels and refuse to budge? You have to be fair in your analysis of this. If you were the problem, don't blame your agent or the market.
Finally, was it your agent's fault? You need to determine if your agent did those marketing tasks which have proven to be successful in selling properties despite the market conditions. Did you have the proper number of open houses? Newspaper ads? Magazine advertising? Exposure in the Multiple Listing Service? Postcard mailers? Broker open houses? Did your agent use the latest web technology to sell your house? The internet? Customized web site? E-mail exposure? Did he expose your house to other real estate agents and other brokerage firms? Was the commission sufficient to provide an incentive for buyer's agents to show and sell your house? If your home was very expensive -- a million dollars or more -- was your agent able to implement an international marketing plan designed to attract qualified buyers worldwide to your property?
If the marketing program your agent executed comes up short, what can you do?
My suggestion is to discuss the problem in a civil and businesslike manner with your agent. No name calling. No finger pointing. No yelling. Just outline the problems as you see them. Then, ask your agent what he can do to correct the problems if you decide to re-list with him. If you like the answer, give him another chance to sell your house. If he does not offer a suitable solution, list the house with an agent who can bring you a more aggressive marketing program. No hard feelings. Just move on to a new agent with more marketing horsepower.
When the market gets soft like it is now, the key to selling property is the quality of the marketing plan offered by the real estate agent and his broker. If the marketing is weak, your house will sit unsold because prospective buyers won't know it is for sale.
So, before you automtically renew your listing, do a fair and honest analysis. If you determing that the problem is the market, there's little you or anybody can do about it. If you are the problem, change your approach. If your agent's marketing plan is the problem, ask him to fix it or hire a new agent with a more powerful marketing plan.
"Okay," you say to yourself, "the real estate market has slowed and prices are getting lower. Still, in Pinellas County during May there were 1,071 single family homes sold and 481 condominiums. That proves there are still buyers out there!" Given that set of circumstances you have every right to ask why those people bought other properties and not yours. Is it something you did? Or is it the fault of your real estate agent? Or, is it just the market?
Let's take a brief look at each of these things and see why you've had no luck selling, why your listing is about to expire and what you can do to correct the situation and get your house sold.
First, let's look at market conditions. If you read this blog regularly or if you read the newspaper or listen to the news, you already know that the real estate market is softening and that prices are coming down. That's the current market trend and every marketing expert in this country will tell you that you can't swim upstream against a market trend. If people aren't buying all you can do is to be patient and wait for the market to improve. In the meantime, keep your fingers crossed that a buyer will come along. Market conditions are beyond the control of your real estate agent and beyond your control as well.
Next, is it your fault? Well, it might be. This is where you have to sit back and do an honest, objective analysis of your own performance in trying to sell your property. I've seen many instances in which the seller was his own worst enemy in trying to sell the property. Did you price the property fairly given today's market conditions? Or, did you overprice it hoping to make a few extra dollars? Did you offer a high enough commission to provide an incentive for buyer's agents to bring prospective buyers to see your property? Or, did you make the agent cut the commission and take away the selling incentive? Did you take care to maximize your property's appearance and condition so that buyers felt favorable toward your property? Or, did you put it on the market with peeling paint and a yard full of weeds? Were you willing to negotiate in good faith and strive to create a win-win situation with the buyers? Or, did you dig in your heels and refuse to budge? You have to be fair in your analysis of this. If you were the problem, don't blame your agent or the market.
Finally, was it your agent's fault? You need to determine if your agent did those marketing tasks which have proven to be successful in selling properties despite the market conditions. Did you have the proper number of open houses? Newspaper ads? Magazine advertising? Exposure in the Multiple Listing Service? Postcard mailers? Broker open houses? Did your agent use the latest web technology to sell your house? The internet? Customized web site? E-mail exposure? Did he expose your house to other real estate agents and other brokerage firms? Was the commission sufficient to provide an incentive for buyer's agents to show and sell your house? If your home was very expensive -- a million dollars or more -- was your agent able to implement an international marketing plan designed to attract qualified buyers worldwide to your property?
If the marketing program your agent executed comes up short, what can you do?
My suggestion is to discuss the problem in a civil and businesslike manner with your agent. No name calling. No finger pointing. No yelling. Just outline the problems as you see them. Then, ask your agent what he can do to correct the problems if you decide to re-list with him. If you like the answer, give him another chance to sell your house. If he does not offer a suitable solution, list the house with an agent who can bring you a more aggressive marketing program. No hard feelings. Just move on to a new agent with more marketing horsepower.
When the market gets soft like it is now, the key to selling property is the quality of the marketing plan offered by the real estate agent and his broker. If the marketing is weak, your house will sit unsold because prospective buyers won't know it is for sale.
So, before you automtically renew your listing, do a fair and honest analysis. If you determing that the problem is the market, there's little you or anybody can do about it. If you are the problem, change your approach. If your agent's marketing plan is the problem, ask him to fix it or hire a new agent with a more powerful marketing plan.
Oh, by the way ... don't forget to visit my webiste, www.thestpeterealestatesite.com.
-30-
posted by Terry Ward at 6:06 AM
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