The Secret Lives of Realtors ® - 5 Big Secrets!

When I speak with people about the listing and marketing process, meeting with sellers that are carefully considering who they want to hire to market their home, I often hear the same misconceptions about how this process works.  There are so many incorrect assumptions about what Realtors ® do on a daily basis. Unfortunately, many are perpetuated by the agents themselves. 

I have repeatedly heard that “…my last agent never showed my home…”.  I hear “…Agent X will have an open house every other week, why won’t you?”  After a blunt discussion about market trends and how it affects the price of the home I’ve actually heard,  “I don’t think you’re excited about my home”.  For the record, I’m not excited about your home. I AM excited for the opportunity to work for you, and love meeting with new clients each and every day. You don’t need for me to be “excited” about your home. You need for me to be realistic. Emotion will cost you money….and after all, don’t you want the most $$ for your home?? Isn’t that the point?

Let’s look at 5 Big Secrets….just for fun!

1. Realtors ® are really focused on advertising their name:  Look at the sign in the yard. Look at the ads. Why is their picture on the sign in your yard? Is the Agent more interested in getting the neighbor’s listing, promoting their image, or are they trying to sell your home?  What percentage of their marketing dollars will go towards selling your home, vs. selling themselves?  The RealCincy Group knows that your home is your priority. Our advertising is tailored to promote your home, not our faces.
2. Many Realtor’s ® marketing ends with putting a sign in your yard:  So many Agents do not have an actual marketing plan for their listings.  They put the home in the MLS, it’s picked up by the local MLS participating brokers, and the sign goes in the yard. The next action plan: Go to lunch or their “other job”.  Ask any Agent what their marketing plan is and how they plan on using the internet.
3. Realtors ® will tell you your home is worth what you want to hear it is worth to win the listing:  It happens all the time. Period.  These agents find it much easier to ask for price reductions after your home is listed than tell you the truth up front. Many just get caught up in the “excitement” of a listing appointment, and don’t have a clue themselves what the market will bring. They do not possess the skills to develop and explain good pricing strategy, so that you will net the most amount of money in the shortest time.  I have to restrain myself here. I’m so tempted to talk about example after example of recent listing appointments, where I did not get the listing, because the sellers did not like what I had to say. By the way, they are all still on the market, and chasing that “falling knife” trying to minimize the damages. I had one seller in Mason call me last week for help. Obviously, she’s under contract with someone else and I can’t help.  Ask the Agent to show you the analysis they used to determine the suggested list price.  Don’t let your Agent use sales from previous years when home prices were higher!! Even the last 2 years information is inaccurate!! In this market, you can’t “test a higher price”.
4. They don’t advertise for buyers:  Most Real Estate Agents do not have a buyer advertising strategy to attract new buyers. Ask your agent about their buyer strategy and how they attract buyers. “Phone duty?”   I’ve done that and enjoyed playing endless hours of online Solitaire while “on duty” staring at a phone that did not ring.  Print ads?  With newspaper readership statically down? Is that $$ well spent?
5. We hold Open Houses to Promote Your Home:  Wrong!!  Most Realtors ® hold open houses because they are hoping and praying that a potential buyer or future seller, unattached to another Agent, will come through the door, and like them best. Today’s buyers can schedule showings and people from all around the world can see the pictures of your home on the Internet at their convenience. Open houses often bring out the neighbors, who want to see your decorating. Is that productive? My open house experience is that it’s me and the newspaper for an hour or so. Sure, someone somewhere can tell the story of how their home sold as a result of an open house…but, really? When? Pre-internet? Would that buyer have come through anyway with their agent on Monday if you weren’t open on Sunday? Probably. Less than 4% of the homes that do sell, nationwide, sell as a result of an open house. Not exactly time well spent.

So, now you have it. A few “myth-busters” to consider!