Real estate is a gamble

I lost a listing last week, and it came back on market the next day with a different Realtor. After marketing it for six months and getting it more media exposure than just about any other property I’ve marketed (third-party print and television), it’s moving to agent number three today, and I wish them both well.

In marketing the property, I spent time, money, resources and time – only to take home not a dime. Am I complaining? Not at all; it’s the nature of this profession and this particular market.

Will the new marketing – copy, photos, MLS number draw a buyer? I hope so, because the seller needs to sell – the house has been on the market for nearly a year.

Here’s the lesson –

What’s most likely to influence a buyer into actually pulling the trigger and making an offer is the one simple tenet of marketing homes in the Charlottesville or any other real estate market –

It came back on the market at a lower price.

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9 Comments

  1. nolan feintuch February 4, 2008 at 07:34

    I hate when that happens. I just hope the new agent didnot use your pictures for the new listing. It is too bad that the owners didnot let you just lower the price. Well, that is part of the game. Sometimes we get listings from others that way too.

    Reply
  2. Jim Duncan February 4, 2008 at 07:48

    Exactly. On the photos, I’d be fine if that had chosen to use my photos – whatever’s in the Seller’s best interest.

    Reply
  3. Jessica Beganski February 4, 2008 at 09:00

    Sorry to hear this. Sometimes our clients are their own worst enemies when it comes to price. I feel bad for you but I also feel bad that they will probably not have a good experience in selling their home. Do you think the listing was overpriced from the very beginning?

    Reply
  4. Jim Duncan February 4, 2008 at 09:06

    Jessica – I don’t feel that bad. I did my best and hope that they sell quickly . As far as my opinion on pricing, I won’t comment specifically on this listing due to confidentiality; in this market, if a property doesn’t sell in six months, I’d say the market has proven itself.

    Reply
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  6. Pavel February 4, 2008 at 09:58

    Jim – you ALMOST sold that one. It always suprises me when a Seller does not see value in marketing a property under a certain price range: for example: 3 step weekly CMA comes in at $604K… if property goes on the market at $599K the exposure is maximized (I haven’t seen statistics on this, but I bet it helps). Those who LEAD the market seem to do better.

    Reply
  7. TrvlnMn February 4, 2008 at 10:45

    Wasn’t the price already a bit higher than 205 when you started trying to sell it? For some reason I though it was. When you first linked to that piece of property in your blog, I remember thinking, “Nice property and an end unit, but really overpriced for shared walls.”

    Plus the Stonehenge development needs a traffic light, it’s almost impossible to make a left hand turn into or any turn out of during rush hours.

    I would also be concerned about the other possible developments in that area changing things. Some of those single family houses on that road are boarded up (for eventual re-development?) and then what about the Meadowcreek Parkway (if it ever gets built)? Those types of things could alter the view beyond the property line and change the character of the residence.

    I think the cards were stacked against you from the outset with this one.

    Reply
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