Throughout the home listing process, I remain conscientious about building trust with my clients through empowerment, transparency, and communication. Including the seller in the listing strategy is crucial to empowering them. It’s pretty simple, and these are the three primary reasons homes do not sell or remain on the market longer than sellers anticipate.
Location still remains one of the top criteria for homebuyers when searching for a new home. While agents may hesitate to discuss safety and schooling due to real estate regulations, these topics often arise in conversations. Environmental factors such as air quality and noise pollution are nearly as significant as traffic congestion when considering location. Since the location of a home is fixed and sellers cannot alter environmental factors, they are essentially limited in this aspect. It is important for the agent to quickly establish an understanding of the value of their property’s location with the sellers — or any concerns that impact it.
The condition of a home is another critical factor that sellers can significantly influence. Curb appeal and the basic cleanliness, organization, and appearance of the interior of a home are vital for effective marketing. Attention to what buyers first feel or sense is crucial; aroma, foul odors, and front door appeal make a substantial difference in how a property presents itself. Sellers should be mindful of Return On Investment (ROI) before investing in expensive repairs and cosmetic updates that may not add value to the home. An experienced real estate agent can guide sellers to invest wisely in repairs and updates. Simple tasks like trimming shrubs, mulching, and power-washing gutters and the exterior can make a significant difference to buyers at minimal cost. As a listing agent, I offer to have my team perform many of these tasks to alleviate the stress that sellers experience when listing a home. The agents who provide the manpower or womanpower to prepare the property for showing will typically secure the listing. My listing philosophy is to always deliver more value to the consumer than they pay me for; this approach is invariably successful.
Pricing: The third and probably most important consideration. It is easy for sellers to become caught up in the selling frenzy and the high prices that homes are garnering. It is common to work with sellers who have inflated perceptions of their home’s worth. Setting realistic expectations is an integral part of maintaining a pragmatic view of home value. The ideal strategy to develop realistic sale prices is to appear at the listing appointment prepared with valid comparable sales. However, being mindful of estimates from real estate technology companies regarding the subject property is an important part of our work. Think about it, almost every buyer will look up the value of any home they are touring beforehand on Zillow or Redfin. Although the algorithms vary between these two companies, if the listing price does not align closely with the Zestimate or RedFin estimate, it might impact the buyer’s motivation to even visit the home. Pricing is the ultimate solution; if the location and/or condition are not ideal, effective pricing will make a difference. Overpricing a home can lead to a frustrating relationship between the seller and the real estate agent. I always advise my sellers that it is nearly impossible to underprice a home; the market will generally determine the sale price.
Ultimately, the seller decides whether to accept an offer. Guiding our sellers in selecting the most suitable offer is a key aspect of our role. The optimal offer is one that has the greatest likelihood of successfully reaching a settlement. An attractive offer is of little value if it fails to reach a settlement, and the property must be re-listed. It is crucial to remind sellers that the highest offer may not always be the best offer!
Author background:
Jody Karam currently holds the position of Associate Broker at Morganelli Properties and serves on the Board of Directors for the Greater Lehigh Valley Realtors Association. With a background encompassing 35 years as an educator and high school wrestling coach, Karam has swiftly ascended to the top echelons of Lehigh Valley realtors.
