How could any agent say what is perfect for a buyer unless that same agent has previewed all
the comparable properties? Maybe it's the way the house is facing that is the deciding factor, color of doors, bedrooms, garage, curb appeal,

No even if an agent has previewed a home can they can not say what the buyer will and or will not like. But the agent can if the buyer says "no 2 bedroom homes", not show 2 bedroom homes. Or if the buyer says I need a garage then the agent can avoid showing homes without garages. However the proposal was what if all 5 homes all "fit the bill" So while I agree that its virtually impossible to have 5 homes all fit the bill without the buyer seeing it, I am saying is under the scenario that all homes fit the bill then the agent can sort the order of what to see and go with the one the buyer wants without showing all five home.

Every buyer I've ever dealt with starts out by
seeing all the homes regardless of the BA comm. Later they narrow down to a few.
Fitting the bill doesn't come into the picture until after they narrow down the selection.

If the buyer wants to see all the 3 bedroom houses but you're showing only 3 bedrooms with 3% cobroke that is fitting the agent's bill.

theotherside
Its not that I am disagreeing with you. But the questions was "What if all five homes fit the bill?" So in this particular sitution I have to say yes the agent can avoid seeing the one with the lower comissision as long as all 5 "Fit the bill"
Well what do you do if 98 possilibities shows up and you only have time to show 15 homes? Your thinking only can work when the market has lower inventory. In a high inventory time witch in my area we are headed back to. Our own board is saying inventory is up 350% from this same time 2005. So in times of high inventory one starts to eliminate. When we have 3oo possible homes we need to get it down to a managable number. So although one is not purpossly avoiding those lower comiission offerings they will be the last to be shown when the first batch is not what the buyer wants. Commission is not be the criteria that I use but be honest in real life, an agent will put those to day two or three or even four if needed. Thats the reality of the situation in high inventory times.

Here are a number of things that will lead to more showings...

1. Attractive Photos
2. Creative Copy that highlights how your home is unique in the subdivision
3. Lower Price
4. Agent Perception regarding how easy your home is to show.

If you have a single photo of the front of you home which is SOP for Flat Fee Brokers, there is no reason to see your home first.

If you have no creative copy to differentiate your home.. no reason to see your home first

If you have a home priced in the middle of the pack... the lower priced homes will be shown first.

Finally, when an agent is selecting a home out of eight to show a client ease of showing is a factor. A home that is vacant, on lockbox and only requires a courtesy call is going to show first.

If your property requires you to be home for the showing... that provides less convience to the buyer, again there is no reason to show your home first.

Keep in mind that an advertising agreement with a flat fee company does not guarantee any showings. I bet they didn't tell you that when they cashed your check.

The bottom line here is reality folks.

Flat fee and discount listings not always but alot of times equal:

Unavailable listing agent,having to represent both sides,low selling commission.

We can all sing kume-by-ya and pretend to be in la-la land but money talks and bs walks!

I always advise my sellers what makes sense paying 1 more percent say 1,500 on a 150k and having thousands of agents clamouring trying to sell your house or doing what others are doing listing at a low commmission to make agents non-motivated to show your home?Meanwhile your property get's stigmatized and after 3 price reductions sells for 15k less,1,500 or 15k which sounds better?

Yes some houses will sell at a discount and they are usually ten's in perfect shape with no repairs or dated looks,perfect yard.

I know discounters and mls listers that will only take gem properties with no problems to list.

Let's face it most properties need some work and all the help they can get to sell it.The discounters make there money by trying to bring in the buyer.

I had one lady a friend of mine the other day tell me they wanted to use me but there famiy uses a friend with keller williams that list's for 4.5 percent total commission and she had 4 listings with them.

I said great unfortuneately i do not discount i can assign for an investor contract for 6,000 and make more than taking those 4 listings at a reduced rate.