Stop! Collaborate, and Listen.

Something that's really been driving me crazy lately, (I feel like Bill Maher...nothing like a "rant," and some good ole' fashioned finger-pointing) are buyers who low-ball, and sellers who over-price in this market. Plain and simple, it's the wrong time for that! Gone are the days of printing out your listings, throwing them over your shoulder, and whichever ones hit the ground created a bidding war. (Get it, what goes up, must come down. They all hit the ground...No? Eh, can't win 'em all) We're in, what I like to call, a "Happy Medium Market." Meaning, we all need to compromise. I think we can all agree that in the current state of our respective markets (Remember, we have one economy, but millions of markets. My business in Merrick, isn't the same as yours in Rocky Point), we are truly trying to encourage our sellers to list as close to true market value as possible and trying to educate our buyers that that's what (most of) our sellers are doing. Is it not fair to say that right now, if you don't have to sell, you probably shouldn't? That, or you own your house out-right, and because you bought it in 1940 for $12, are going to make a profit regardless of the current market prices. I'm sure some will argue that it's all relative. While you may not gross millions on your house, you'll end up getting a "good deal" on the purchasing end; All well and good. I don't necessarily disagree with that logic. What I do disagree with, is the idea of listing your house at a "cross your fingers and hope price," and then expecting to sell quick to take advantage of the buyer's market. It's selfish, and you're wasting everyone's time. What's the number one reason buyers feel they can get "deals" right now? Inventory. By us holding on to listings just for the sake of having a listing, we are adding to the problem. The reason prices keep dropping (and according to Jonathan Miller of Miller-Samuel, the only reliable source as far I know, they're going to drop an additional 10%-15%), is because we A. Keep adding on listings (which if you know you can sell it, good for you. Otherwise, spare us.) B. We're in a short sale/foreclosure-driven market, and C. Every time a bigger and better house comes on, we have to drop our prices to stay above water at all. You may have a million listings, but how many can you actually sell?

I had a woman call in about three weeks ago who was looking to list her house in The Hamptons. The house most recently appraised for around 1.3Mil. Our conversation went well, I had one of my agents go over to view her home, and she agreed to sign the exclusive. Yay for us, right? Wrong. As it turns out, she owed significantly more on the house than it's worth (How many times have you heard that in the past year?). She wanted to price it around 1.8MIl, and quite frankly, it would never sell. In situations like this, I urge my agent to walk away. We politely bowed out, and (I thought) moved on. I received an e-mail today saying "Great news! I think we may still have the listing." My first thought was "Great, they've figured out their finances and can list at market value." So, I respond to the e-mail inquiring further on price/terms etc. only to find out that we're still at 1.8Mil. I had to catch a train (yes, I commute everyday. You're welcome, Long Island), so this issue is yet to be resolved. That being said, first thing tomorrow morning she will once again be encouraged to walk away.

I want to be part of the solution, People. Not the problem. Just as I urge the people (buyers/sellers/agents) I work with, I'm urging you - Stop the madness! Take a minute to really look at what's going on around you. Why would you list a home, market it, show it and know you ultimately, can't sell it? On the other end, why would you encourage a buyer to make an offer that you know won't be accepted, or at least negotiated? Think about it, the economy is driven by the real estate market. We, as agents/brokers/consultants/managers are directly linked to the happenings of our economic world. Why would you want to do anything to A. Drive sales down, and B. Make yourself look like you're not an expert? Our clients, for the most part, are at a stand still. They have no idea which way is up. While they may be internet savvy and can tell you the address of every house currently for sale, and the minimum commission of every company, they truly don't know market values. How can they? They may know what their neighbor's house sold for, but as we all know, their neighbor's house has an extra bedroom, permits for a pool in place and a better-manicured lawn. The one thing our clients still don't have (and hopefully never will) is the knowledge to produce accurate comparable. Any good agent knows, "comps" are the key to success on both the selling and buying side of your business. How many of you pull up comps of surrounding homes when your buyer's getting ready to make an offer? I'd venture to guess, most of you don't. Why not, though? How can you truly assess what a reasonable offer is, without know the "sold" market around you?

The moral: ( So sad. Time to stop. I write my blogs on the train, People. Once the train hits the station, you lose me 'til tomorrow.) Don't be selfish! What a ridiculous notion. You've been told since birth to share and not be greedy. If you've never implemented these basic actions into your every day life, now's the time to start. Better yet, be selfish. Only take on clients you know you can make money off of. (See what I did there? I taught all of you selfish people a way to appear not selfish. You're welcome.) Really though, wouldn't you rather actually close deals than have the "privilege" of saying you have 214 listings? You can't buy shoes with a listing, and I'm a girl who loves me some shoes.