Testing an Unrealistic Seller It seems to be happening a lot in today’s housing market: Buyers find something they like, but — based on the Comp’s — the Seller’s price appears to be high. What to do? One option is to simply wait. Overpriced listings have a way of coming down to earth, and Buyers...Read More
The Many Forms of Showing Feedback How interested is a prospective Buyer in a given home? It’s not exactly high tech, but the best measurement tool I’ve come up with in almost a decade selling real estate is . . . a stopwatch. So, the longer a prospective Buyer lingers in a particular home, the...Read More
Learning the Market — Twice; or Rinse “Flush and Repeat” What’s the worst thing about a short sale that doesn’t work out (depending on who you ask, the result 50% to 70% of the time)? From the would-be Buyer’s perspective, it’s the frustration and disappointment associated with having flushed months waiting on a home that, ultimately, wasn’t...Read More
Surefire Signs How does a Realtor tell if a home they’re listing is primed to sell? (see also, “Listings and Pots of Water“; “Buyer Feedback: ‘Win, Place, or Show'”). The starting point is their own knowledge of the home relative to nearby, competing homes — as well as the Comp’s (“Comparable Sold Properties”). To sell...Read More
Category #4: ‘Out of the Money’ My favorite metaphor for how close a listing is to selling is temperature (“Listings and Pots of Water“). So, a new listing starts out at room temperature, heats up as showings (and second showings) accelerate, and reaches a boiling point by the time a strong offer (or two) comes...Read More
Prelude to a DealCourting my wife in Manhattan in the late ’90’s, I remember my (quick) progression from “Friend,” to “Special Friend,” to “Boyfriend,” to “fiance,” to “husband.” (The only interim title that I really objected to was “Special Friend,” which sounded vaguely insulting.) Is there a similar progression in a real estate “courtship?” Reading...Read More
