MLS: “$10,000 Agent Selling Bonus!” My gut tells me that Realtor sales incentives generally don’t work, based on the following, three-step logic: 1) Anything effective tends to be copied in the marketplace; 2) Empirically, home sellers (and their agents) seldom offer sales incentives to Buyers’ agents (above and beyond the payout commission, that is); 3) Ergo,...Read More
Test your knowledge of today’s real estate market, and answer the following question: Does dangling a fatter commission to the Buyer’s agent — what Realtors call the “listing payout” — result in a faster sale, for more money? A. No. B. Yes. C. Sometimes D. It depends on how much. Answer: “D.” (credit also given for...Read More
(Also Known as “Serendipitous Showings”) Teresa Boardman (St. Paul Real Estate Blog) has a nice post giving the agent’s side of why, just maybe, you may not be able to show a prospective Buyer you’ve never met a home on the other side of town at 4 p.m. when they call at 3:10 p.m. The...Read More
Overpriced + Fat Payout = Overpriced Can a whopper of an agent bonus move what appears to be an overpriced listing? This South Minneapolis duplex (pictured above) would certainly seem to be an excellent test case. Listed Friday for $430,000, what jumped about the listing — besides the modest curb appeal and aggressive asking price...Read More
