List Price: $4.9 Million
[Note to Readers: The views expressed here are solely those of Ross Kaplan, and do not represent Edina Realty, Berkshire Hathaway (“Berkshire”), or any other entity referenced. Edina Realty is a subsidiary of Berkshire.]
At a sufficiently high price, every prospective home buyer is a tire kicker.
At least in the Twin Cities, that point is reached well before $4.9 million, the list price for 2201 East Lake of the Isles Parkway in Minneapolis.
So why put the home on Broker Tour? (Note: at least in the Twin Cities, Broker Tour is held every Tuesday from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.; the purpose is to allow area Realtors to familiarize themselves with newly-listed homes (usually), and generally build market awareness for same).
Qualifying Prospective Buyers. Or Not.
To screen out gawkers and the merely curious, listing agents for upper bracket properties typically eschew Sunday open houses (the “retail” version of the “wholesale” Broker tour).
Listing agents also commonly control access via restrictive showing requirements**, e.g., requiring prospective Buyers to demonstrate their financial bona fides before viewing the home.
Typically, that’s done by the Buyer’s agent providing a Pre-Approval Letter from a reputable lender, or otherwise documenting proof of funds (if the Buyer intends to pay cash), prior to the listing agent personally confirming the showing request.
However, no such financial qualifying — discreet or otherwise — is possible at a Broker Open, which any local agent can attend (and sometimes the public — if the hosting agent lets them in).
Seller (and Listing Agent) Motivation
So (again), why welcome the hoi polloi?
To find out, I checked the MLS listing history for 2201 East Lake of the Isles Parkway.
Sure enough, far from being a new listing, the home originally debuted on the market over a year ago, after failing to sell with another agent from September 2015 to March 2016 at a higher price.
Translation: the homeowner (and listing agent) are trying to jump-start Buyer interest, if only through word of mouth and agent networking.
As in, “Did you see that spectacular Lake of the Isles home on tour today?!?”
And of course, posts like this 🙂 . . .
**What is another restrictive showing requirement for upper bracket homes — usually tucked away in the “Agent Remarks” section of the listing on MLS?
“Listing agent shall accompany all showings.”
While that can be intrusive . . . it can also serve to let the listing agent — who knows (or should know) the property best — highlight the home’s best attributes and call the Buyer’s attention to any unique features (after which smart agents make themselves scarce).
See also, “Realtor Compliments on Broker Tour“; “The Best Reason to Cancel an Open House on Broker Tour“; and “Broker Tour ‘Encores’.”
