Seller says, "Let’s Negotiate"

One of the episodes from Buy Me on HGTV remains pretty crystal clear on my mind and I do not think I necessarily agree with both the agent and sellers.

Setting the Stage:
The house has been on the market for a while before the Sellers interview this real estate agent to list it for them. The house has foundation issues and it is VERY Visible from the exterior bricks and the first floor.
Knowing this, the agent presented two strategies to the Sellers.

(1) List it “higher” than the original price that the Sellers could not sell it at the FSBO price.
(2) List it “lower” to reflect that the house needs foundation work performed.

What did you think the Sellers chose? Hint, hint: They said, “Let’s Negotiate”…..

My Comments:

I do not think that was the right pricing strategy to begin with. Even without knowing the market, and the fact that most For Sale By Owners overprice their homes, listing it HIGHER to try to get the house SOLD is definitely not the way to waste the Seller’s, the listing agent, the buyer’s agents and their clients’ time.
In this market where the HOMES are not in the PERFECT condition, most buyers just say, “NEXT!”…..The Sellers’ feel that with given enough Buyer’s interests, they can always “NEGOTIATE”. I am sorry but most of the time, it does not happen that way.

Based on my experience, buyers move on and do not want to deal with a (1) overpriced listing (2) a house with problem on top of that.

Towards the mid-part of the show, Summer turned into Fall and there were still no offers. Eventually, the listing agent suggest to lower the price 8% – a very difficult choice for the Sellers to make, yet they agree.

My Comments:
The Sellers in their minds have set that their house is worth XXX – original listing price with the agent. Now, having to reduce it 8% is more than they can handle. It feels like the agent is trying to take a piece of their soul. Well, in the first place, the Listing agent did not set reality in the Seller’s mind.

Winter came and the Listing agent suggest to reduce it another 5%. By now, the Sellers are not in good terms with the agent. No one was happy. And the house continues to stay on the market. Show ends……

My Comments:
This is a harsh reality where an overpriced listing – to begin with hurts everyone. According to the show, the house was on the market for 2 months while the Sellers try to sell on their own. Then from June into the Winter months (February) was another 8 months the house sits with an overpriced listing and problem (Foundation). A good wake up call.