I am really working on getting some prices down. I've tried several things but no one is biting.I've tried the co-broke won't bring clients because it's too high...no one will make an offer because it's too high, etc., etc. But, they are being very stubborn. They are not aware of how difficult the market really is. My office has stopped advertising and says I can pay for my own advertising and he'll reimburse if it sells...I absolutely don't know what do to. One lisitng is 2,225,000 and the other is 379,000. Both are just as difficult...they weren't overpriced when they were taken but the market has dropped 5% around here. Any ideas?
Thanks in advance.

Gee's meant to say 15% !!!

Be completely honest. Tell them that market prices have dropped 5% since their homes went on the market. Show them the current comps to support your 5% drop and tell them that if they want to sell and expect to get offers they will have to drop their listing price. Tell them that you cannot afford to spend advertising dollars on overpriced properties.

2004Ferne,

Your clients are going to be stubborn unless or until your listing expires, unless you lay down the law.

As Paul says, you have to be honest with them, that you cannot afford to keep representing them in a no-win situation.

If you don't do it, you'll beat your head against the wall and spend more advertising dollars and valuable time on these listings and then when your listing expires, the next agent will finally get that price reduction.

Don't have the cojones to do that yet...

Try the Range Pricing Strategy.

Buyer will entertain offers between (starting at just below the probable resale value of property and slightly above their current rediciulous asking price.) That way, they still have hope for their high price, but if an when you get any offers - they'll see that the offers are at the lower end.

And your sellers don't feel like they are giving up on their price quite yet - because they are not committing to taking an offer in that price range - they are just committed to 'considering offers in that range.' (Ofcourse, you may be entitled to a commission if you get an reasonable offer in that range and they refuse it - but that's another issue - perhaps someone else understands better how that works...?)
You can always counter.

Print out the comps, and a form to reduce the pricing and a form to cancel the listing. Have a chat about how the market's dropped. Tell them they need to sign one of the forms -- either lower the price or cancel the listing.

I lived through the prior market crash in New England and it wasn't pretty. Same thing happened... sellers refused to face reality until it was too late.

Pull up some historical data and show it to them, and as others of said give them comps of recent sales.

I am fortunate to have a no-nonsense broker to back me up. I have one such listing where when we comped it out it came in at 300k-350k, now with 6 weeks and several pending sales, comps have pulled it down under 250k. Rather than just hit the seller with this, I made an appointment with them, sat them down and went over what had happened, with concrete facts and examples that they could see. My CMA's are almost 30 pages long, and I completely re-did it to support dropping this price. I listened to their concerns and arguments, but the bottom line, as I told them was this: Everyday your home sits on the market it is costing YOU time and $$$$, You hired me to assist in the sale of your home, and you need to listen to me, and look at these new comps. You need to be competative if you WANT to sell. I cannot justify advertising an overpriced listing, and if we cannot come to an agreement, if you cannot trust me, if you are not serious about selling your home, perhaps we should not be working together.
Because, Frankly, I do not need their listing. I give 300% and so does my broker, and we only do this for serious, serious, serious, buyers and sellers. We tote exclusivity and it works.

Do what agents do best show buyers these houses and then sell them something else.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^
rofl! i refer the buyers out adn sell the listings. i use each buyer that did not want the house as evidence that they need to move the price.

I unloaded my overpriced listing last year. I told the seller:

"I am sorry for taking the listing after I advised you that the list price was to high, but I am unable to sell it. Here are showings we have had, the comments we have recieved. Its not going to sell, and there is nothing else I can do.

The following properties have sold since we listed your property. The lack of intrest in ours is price. I know what the market is telling me.

We need to lower the price immediatly. Without a signifigant price reduction this listing is going to expire and your Days on Market are adding up. I encourage you to consult other Real Estate professional and get their opinion. Should you find somebody else and feel you want to cancel the contract and bring in new blood, I will cancel it. Feel free to pass this email to the other agents, as they will question why the house is still listed and likely want to make sure they are not stepping on my toes (its an ethics thing).

Overall you hired me to sell your house. At this list price, I can not do it. Let me know what you want to do. We can meet and talk more indepth about it. "

I sent it to 5 listings and one opted to relist it at the same price. Its still for sale. 2 tried to negotiate with me, I fired them. 2 got serious and followed my advice.

2004 Ferne what I WOULD NOT do is spend one cent on overpriced listings!

Listen to your broker-why do you think they aren't going to advertise anymore? It's because alot of listings are overpriced and are not selling.

Most important is WHY are they selling death,divorce,illness,job loss,relocation,facing foreclosure etc.

These reasons are balls to the wall they HAVE to do something period.

If you get answers like we want to live in another area,or we want a bigger home etc. you are most likley dead in the water as there motivation is WEAK and it's based on expectations of achieving a certain PRICE. Same thing with using perceived equity based on a sales price to pay down bills.

I would drop them like a bad habit and not spend one dime on there properties.Either they immediately reduce and sell or you cancel the listing. Offer if they want a bunch of advertsing to reimburse them off of your commission if it sells that way it's there money in the pot not yours or you broker's.

Without motivation you have got nothing!

if they have not sold yet they are overpriced. we are in a declining market and if a seller has not sold for "their price" in 6 months, "their price" is less relevant now than it was 6 months ago!

drop the price and it will sell. show them how the market is declining and they will get the best price today as opposed to months from now. put it in writing and let them see it on paper. people believe what they see in print over what they hear as it has more time to sink in.


i heard a story of a guy who has season tickets to a football stadium. he shows up about 2 hours before the crowd gets there and he drinks LOTS OF BEER! he knows that he will have to use the bathroom in the stadium many times during the game. he takes a marker and a piece of paper and writes on the paper ---OUT OF ORDER--- and tapes it to the outside of one of the bathroom stalls. during the game when his bladder fills with beer he walks to the bathroom, bypassing the line and goes straight to "his stall". there is never anyone in there. the point of the story is that IF YOU PUT SOMETHING IN WRITING, PEOPLE ARE MORE LIKELY TO BELIEVE IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!(the other point is that when you go to a game bring tape a marker and a piece of paper)

First, calculate how much they are losing for each month that house keeps sitting on the market...consider taxes, utilities, etc. - each month is an expense that should be subtracted from the list price.

Next, pull out comps like crazy. Ask them which looks the best value - or even take them on a tour of the comps to see why their home is still sitting there - show them their house through the eyes of a buyer.

Here are a couple of great scripts that might be helpful. Keep in mind, that you are in the business to sell houses...not list properties. If a seller is not motivated or realistic about the market value of their home, it probably is a listing you don't want to have. I always tell my sellers, that market value is only what someone is willing to pay for your house...not what you think it's worth. These are conversations that need to be had with a seller prior to listing the house, so that you can refer back to them if the house is not selling. I will sometimes even have a seller pre-sign a price reduction sheet for a month into the listing. Good luck!

Handling Seller Pricing Objections

Selling A Home At Market Value

Prequalifying A Listing Appointment