I've managed to accumulate nearly 10 listings in the past few months (obviously, not a difficult thing to do in this market) however nothing is moving. The listings are priced at FMV and some of my sellers are borderline desperate to get out so long as they don't have to short sale or essentially give their property away.

Instead of trying to persuade yet another 2-3% price drop, how effective would it be to instead raise the SOC to 4%, or even 5%? Obviously, I'd be willing to accept 2% and ask the seller to kick in an extra percent to draw in more selling broker interest at 5% if I thought it would help close a deal.

Any disadvantages to raising the SOC other than the obvious loss of commission on the listing side and the possible irreversible nature of the strategy in general? Surely I'd rather accept some commission rather than losing the listing(s) altogether.

"The listings are priced at FMV and some of my sellers are borderline desperate to get out so long as they don't have to short sale or essentially give their property away."

I turn down commercial listings every week.

Remember this:

"No amount of marketing in the world will sell an overpriced listing"


If the sellers aren't willing to do what it takes to sell you are wasting your time.I don't care if you get 40 listings.If they don't sell and close you are losing money and wasting energy and resources which will make you burnout faster in this game.

I see it in my subdivision over,and over,and over again.Different listings agents same property and a year later it forecloses or becomes a rental.

You will learn early on to grill sellers and not agree to their demands because you "want a listing at all costs".

The properties are obviously NOT fair market value or buyers would purchase them and they would close.The higher commission split will interest some agents but the property still has to appraise and the buyers lower offer still has to be accepted by the sellers.


The expireds are all the unrealistic or expired sellers out there.What the sellers WANT TO DO and HAVE TO DO are 2 different things.As always before taking the listing seller high seller motivation is crucial.

When they say we will give you the listing but do not want to bring money to the table or do a short sale etc. then that is your cue to ask the hard questions.

Ok you tell them "So let's talk about that some more Mr.Seller"

What if the only options are to bring cash to closing or do a short sale what will you do then?

The answer to this question is critical before taking the listing.

If they say we will just take off the market or rent you have your answer.

If they say we won't like it but we have to move because of XYZ then you know it will be a painful transaction but one that has a chance of closing.Also you need a pre-arranged price drop in the listing agreement if you don't have a contract in the first few weeks so it doesn't get stale.

While listed sometimes the sellers motivation will change over time and they will cave in but I don't take listings betting on that.

No matter what you say about FMV it all comes back to PRICE.

I agree. Around here we do lots of Lease/optioins with sizeable non refundable option money upfront that we'll split with the other agent and seller. Lease/option not a bond for title.

[quote=super realtor
"No amount of marketing in the world will sell an overpriced listing"

[/quote]

I say this a little differently, but it's exactly the same message: "Houses aren't Pet Rocks - No Amount of Marketing Can Sell a Stupid Product"

A higher broker co-op will not sell a house. What sells a house is that it is the best buy for the buck. This doesn't necessarily mean that it's the cheapest, but that the buyer walks in and says "WOW" instead of "Oh, it's nice."

When agents talk about listings at "FMV" (Fair Market Value), they've just identified the problem without realizing it. In a slower market, listings priced "Fairly" do not sell. If your listing is priced right alongside all the other "Fairly Priced Listings" it will be passed over as buyers look for the one that stands out from the crowd.

Again, that doesn't mean it's the cheapest. Maybe it shows the best or has the best view or lot or the coolest kitchen. Maybe it has a 4th bedroom or 3rd bath, while the competition mostly has 3 beds or 2 baths. But it still must be priced with the inferior competition, which your seller will see as underpriced.

But the trick is to inspire the WOW when the buyer walks in the door, either with the price or the condition - preferably both.

By the way, a price reduction is not always the best solution - unless the home is obnoxiously overpriced, it almost never is. There probably is a problem with the house that, if fixed, will increase the chance of sale. And fixing the problem is almost always cheaper than reducing the price to account for the problem.

The key is counting on the seller to fix the problem versus doing the easy thing and reducing the price.Many sellers say I will get right on it but only halfway do things or not at all and then pray they still get a higher price.

Another way you can set this up is at the listing appointment give the sellers 2 prices.

One with the changes and the one without any changes.The gap usually motivates them to get it done.You have ONE CHANCE of showing it in it's best light when it hits the market fresh.

If not everything is done on the list then it will be listed at the lower price period - end of comment.

Buyers will not pay top dollar for a partially refaced project.They will see the imperfections and adjust accordingly with their offer.

Caution: When recommend repairs or upgrades make sure you do not allow the seller to list at an inflated value !

Some sellers think if you give 2 values of current 80,000 versus repaired 100,000 then repaired they will list at 110,000.

Absolutely do not let them do this................


Remember YOU THE BROKER/AGENT are to blame if you take a listing and have problems with the seller later on.It almost always goes back to wavering in the beginning on the sellers demands will bite you later on.

Is SOC understood by everyone to mean Selling Broker Commission. I'm guilty of guessing that's what it means, never heard it before.

Anyway, how about a Sales BONUS to the Selling Agent not tied to the Closing Price, stipulating that it is intended by the Seller to be a Reward to the Agent on the Ground who puts together a deal that gets you to Closing.

Few Brokers will try to strip off a split for themselves IF it is clearly defined as being an incentive for the Selling Agent . . . . not the Selling Office. Understood that it still has to go through the Selling Broker's Books, but 100% of it should come out the other side to the Agent who made things happen . . . . and not related to the Price achieved.

I absolutely love it when listing agents do this because I get paid more and had absolutely nothing to do with the buyer choosing that house. LOL

I would never ever ever try to talk a buyer into buying a house because my commission is higher. Great way to get sued and lose credibility if the buyer found out later. Say bye bye to referrals.

In our market, most buyers choose the homes they look at from a list emailed to them. Rarely are the agents choosing the homes.

Last month I made a couple of extra grand because the agent increased the buyer's agent commission. Nice cash for me, but had nothing to do with the buyers thinking this was the house they wanted to raise their family in.