Yesterday I was teaching a class of real estate agents and a very interesting question came up. The agent wanted to know how to give pricing information to his seller on the value of a home.
The seller thought that the home was worth $480,000, the agent stated that the home was worth $460,000. They had an offer for $470,000 that the seller would not counter.
I asked the agent why the seller thought the home was worth more. The agent stated that he saw the price on Zillow.
I then asked the agent if he himself had looked at Zillow? The agent stated "why would I look at Zillow when I have the recent sales from the multiple listing system". I replied “so that you might have a better understanding about the seller’s pricing thoughts”.
As a listing agent, my thinking always is that I want to see what the recent sales are that Zillow is using; usually they have a few sales on the site that they are comparing the home to. The agent said “well I don't need that information, I have better information from the multiple listing system”.
This agent totally missed the point. In today's world it seems that no one wants to take that extra step to try and help or to understand where the customer is coming from. It is as If you went on a job interview and had the best engineering skills but no knowledge of what the company did; do you think you would get the job?
What the agent should have done was look at Zillow and any other consumer related real estate site before even going on the appointment or listing the property.
He should have had a conversation with the seller before an offer was ever received. If the agent and the client both have the same information then it will be a much smoother transaction. A good agent should always explain why the comparable sales on certain websites may or may not be a good match for their property.
Our job is to price a home to sell and get the most amount of money for the seller. My goal is that I always want my sellers to understand why that price is a good fit.
When I go on the job interview … AKA a listing appointment, I should know what that seller’s expectations are before hand. I then go with appropriate materials so we can discuss my job. My seller and I then have a much better chance of selling that home at its highest price.
Knowing my property inventory, past sales activity plus … understanding what the seller expects, are all key components to providing the best service possible.
If you would like more information about this process … please give me a call or visit my website.
562-882-1581 or www.SuperBroker.com
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