Buyer Tips in a Buyer’s Market. This is the second in a series of articles that will give buyers insight into the mind of a seller and their agent. See part one at Buyer Tips in a Buyer’s Market Part 1. In the first article I wrote, “Sellers must have listing agents who are extremely good at three things: marketing the listed home for sale (using the right technology, advertising, photos, and videos), persuasive sales (written and verbal), and negotiating the price and terms.”
I’m going to address these three topics in reverse order, starting with Negotiating the Price and Terms. This single issue of negotiating mistakes in this buyer’s market has the greatest potential to hinder a buyer, not to mention kill the transaction for a seller. But if you know the way some sellers and their agents are thinking, if you know the misconceptions they have about negotiating the price and terms, you can have the upper hand in negotiating.
Some listing agents are making huge mistakes in negotiating the price and terms for their selling clients, and sometimes these mistakes rise to the level of sabotaging their own clients’ transactions. Do they intentionally sabotage their own transaction? No, they do not. After all, they earn no commission if the deal does not close. Perhaps the best way to make the point is by sharing some examples of how a listing agent sabotages the sale of their own listing, and we’ll look at how this effects you as a buyer.
This is a Buyer’s Market Not a Seller’s Market
A retired couple from Arizona decided to write an offer on a home (somewhere in the Northwest) that was about 30 years old and located way out of town, about a 30 minute drive from the nearest town. It is remote enough that very few retirees even look at homes this far out of town. This is not a modern home, and it doesn’t compare to the gorgeous modern kitchens of newer homes. This would be a tough listing to sell, but one thing I can say with great confidence: this home must be listed at a very reasonable price, because the buyers for this home in this remote location are few and far between. Literally, this seller might only see one qualified and interested buyer once in three years. And to state the obvious, this is a buyer’s market, not a seller’s market. (more…)
Last Updated on September 4, 2011 by Chuck Marunde
I am sorry to say that in my view, at least, this poor woman trusts her agent too completely. In this case, the seller really needs to take a big step back and consider what she’s getting out of this arrangement. She may be much better off if she cancels her listing with this agent/agency and takes the property off the market. Then, at a later time after the appropriate interval, she can relist the property with an agent/agency who has her best interests in mind. I have to wonder if there was a proper comparative market study here–if such were even possible in a far-outlying area as that.
Past experience has taught me severe lessons in this regard. The selling client certainly has the right to withdraw her/his property for the purpose of listing later with a professional who poses a better business match for the seller, as long as the contract conditions are met.
It’s possible that the selling client may offend the agent by withdrawing the property, or by refusing to renew the listing with that agent, but the reality of failing to sell a vulnerable property when a sale is really wanted or needed is far, far worse, in my opinion. Let’s face it: selling property is a business arrangement first. The agent’s ego or feelings have to take second place. Maybe a good agent would know this difference, too.!
This is a seller’s and buyer’s opinion here, not an agent’s. Thanks for the interesting story and valuable instruction.
Barbara, you’re quite right. I wish more sellers did their due diligence when selecting and hiring a Realtor. Like any profession, there are good ones, bad ones, and ugly ones.