Good Monday Morning!
When the economy goes weird, just about anybody in the business of selling, well, ANYTHING faces an enigma of epic proportions.
How do you find the right price?
Price it too high, it doesn’t sell . . . and you end up in this “chasing the market” down – down – down – reducing the price over time to somewhere below the price you probably would’ve gotten had you priced it right in the beginning.
Price it too low . . . 42 offers show up and it sells in the matter of a few days . . . and everyone involved walks away from the transaction wondering how much money was left on the table.
Whose responsibility is it to get the price right?
Doesn’t everyone have a stake?
The Seller is interested in making the most amount of money possible . . . and the Marketer (REALTOR) doesn’t get paid unless the house sells.
Some folks would say that it’s up to the real estate professional to determine the price. The truth is . . . Deciding the price is the SELLER’S role. The Marketer is in charge of the process of attracting potential Buyers, negotiating, consummating the ultimate deal.
So . . . the REALTOR provides information and interprets that information such that the Seller can determine her price . . . This information reveals the probability of the house selling within a defined period of time based on the current inventory of available, competitive houses currently on the market and the rate at which houses sell in the area – that is, how many close each month.
So . . .
Agent and client are forming a partnership based on 2 decisions:
Seller decides (Based on Absorption Price Analysis and her own perceived needs) the listing price of the house.
the Agent, then, must make a business decision as to whether or not to accept the job of marketing the house at that price based on how he feels it aligns with his perceived opinion of the reality of the market.
If the alignment isn’t there?
This is one instance in which I think both Seller and agent both would behoove themselves to choose NOT to do business together.
This post derives from an educational session I attended on friday at the Greater Nashville Association of REALTORS Middle Tennessee Convention where Zan Monroe revealed just a few of the mystical ways of the “Ninja Seller”.
I liked the initial premise of giving the Seller the power (and the responsibility) to make decisions and the real estate professional the responsibility of reasearch, knowledge, education/advising the Seller to aid in this decision making and execute a smooth PROCESS.
We are all in this together.
What I know for sure is that the planets have aligned in a twisted conspiracy to make THIS potentially the best financial time EVER to buy a house. Mortgage Rates are are lower than ever, and the inventory has dwindled enough that a new hosue on the market that is priced right WILL sell quickly.
Additionally, projections are that the Middle TN real estate market will APPRECIATE as much as 3% in 2011 . . . One of the top 5 appreciating markets in the US.
This is a “sweet spot” for Home Buyers . . . If you or anyone you know needs more (or less) space . . . or simply has a hankering to move to a different area, contact me so we can get the process started.
I’m just sayin’
Hope you have a fantastic week,
b