Consumer Psychology and the Too-Precise Price When you see an oddly-priced “For Sale” home, there are two possible explanations (at least in my experience selling residential real estate): One. Drawing Attention. The way to stand out** from homes listed at $389,900, $399,900, etc. is to price at $398,731 or some such (I haven’t seen a home...Read More
Proof That High Pressure Sales Tactics Don’t Work At least in my experience, the odds of a first showing leading to a consummated transaction are perhaps 1 in 10. The exception to that? If the Buyer’s agent is headed to the airport, or otherwise under acute time pressure. When that’s the case, I’d estimate that the...Read More
Too Much of a Good Thing? “As I am smoking . . . I don’t expect to be thanked.” –What John Hurt’s character — in “Love and Death on Long Island” (1997) — says to the cab driver, when the latter points to the cab’s “Thank You For Not Smoking” sign, and asks Hurt to extinguish his cigarette. Who doesn’t want...Read More
When it Works ” and When it Doesn’t; or, “Good! Go Lowball Someone Else!” Fear of loss can be a huge motivator in real estate sales. For home Buyers, it means losing out on their dream home to a higher bidder. So, what do home Sellers fear losing? A good Buyer. “The Runner-Up House” Which...Read More
“Best Time to List?” — Cont. “The early bird gets the worm.” –Proverb “The early Spring listing gets the motivated Buyer.” –Real estate corollary Conventional wisdom is that the Spring market in the Twin Cities officially kicks off after the Super Bowl, or the first Winter thaw post-Holidays — whichever comes first. Which means that...Read More
Understanding Home Buyer Psychology It’s human nature to want what everyone else wants. Likewise, it’s also human nature to not want what everyone else is foresaking. So, if a happy, bustling household is the real estate equivalent of the popular girl — or guy — everyone wants to go out with in high school, what...Read More
