LISTING ETIQUETTE

I was going through some new listings last week and noticed one that had been there before, was terminated and now was back on the market at a new(and much more reasonable) list price. Got me to thinking about how frustrating the whole process of listing a house can be if both the seller and realtor are not on the same page. Hey, in the middle of the pandemic all the agent needed to do was put a sign on the lawn and declare a date that seller would be looking at offers. In other words the word strategy never really came into play. It was all done for both seller and listing agent. The buyers absolutely determined what the house would sell for. Not necessarily what it was worth but what it would sell for. Two entirely different things. Then a funny thing happened. Interest rates ballooned and market slowed down. Buyers went to the sidelines and listings came to an almost standstill. So all of a sudden the realtors had to employ some things they hadn’t used in a long while. Namely strategy and negotiation. But sellers were being stubborn. They wanted to list their home and get the same price that the neighbour down the street got a year or so ago. Different market but so what? My house is better than theirs and is worth it. I saw one home close to where I live get listed, de-listed, re-listed, cancelled, price drop, price hike, hold back offers, different realtor (actually 4 different realtors) over the course of 2-3 years. It was ridiculous. It seemed every week saw a new price/agent/terms. Thing is, buying agents that do their jobs and represent the best interests of their buying clients will do their homework and see all this movement. That raises a whole bunch of red flags. Then there is the stubborn seller that demands their listing be cancelled and re-listed to make it “fresh”. Except they want it re-listed at the same price. Huh? Did I miss something here? Again the buyer agent will see this and pass along that info to their buyer client. Another red flag. And then there is the one that drives all realtors crazy. Client has refused to drop price and is constantly chasing the market. By that I mean they are 6 months to a year behind where the prices are heading. Seller gets frustrated – blames the realtor and either terminates the listing or lets it run out. Then they go find another agent they believe will do a better job. And the first move? You guessed it – they drop the price. The home sells because it now is in line with other listings and the selling agent gets a pat on the back. The original agent that recommended the price drop in the first place? Not a thing. Not even a thank you. Bottom line is that in today’s market there are no definitive answers and anybody that tells you they know exactly what is going on, is full of hot air. What used to take months and even years to change is now morphing in weeks and even days. The market is THAT volatile. So you have to stay right on top of things. If you are buying and selling in the same market you will at least be affected by the same factors. Where things go awry is when you decide to get greedy or refuse to hike what you are willing to pay. And again that goes back to the art of negotiation. If you like something enough you will work in a good way to make it yours. Being realistic sure helps.