Choosing a Realtor - What does it take to sell your home?
by Hugh Hardy
"What does it take to sell your home?" In my 11 or so years in the real estate business, I've been over this question more than a few times. My experience has led me to some conclusions as to exactly what is needed to do the job - and these conclusions may surprise some of you. Although I have worked in a market of a certain specific size, location, and demographic, I believe that the answers which I have found can be applied to almost any market - maybe with the exception of very small towns with correspondingly small populations (populations in the 100's, for example).
The answer to this question is not a particularly deep, dark secret. In fact, most Realtors intuitively know what works to sell your home - and what doesn't. So why does the answer often seem like a mystery? For one thing, not every Realtor has the conviction to apply the methods that work and forget the stuff that just looks good. To further complicate matters, some Realtors may not be particularly good at conveying blunt opinions to their Vendors. What are the reasons that the house is not sold and what it would take to get it sold? That's the million dollar question.
One example of stuff that doesn't really work is the "Open House". Open houses are ineffective in most markets - plus they are a tremendous inconvenience for Vendors and an inefficient use of time for Realtors. Yet open houses are commonly done by many Realtors (out of good intentions mostly). I spoke with one Realtor who averages around 80 home sales a year and hasn't done an open house on a resale home in over 8 years (new homes are an exception to this rule - they are typically sold by showing models in an open house setting)! She was adamant that open houses are a complete waste of time! I'm not saying that open houses never work. I'm just saying that they are incredibly ineffective in most areas. For all intents and purposes they can be eliminated and the Realtors energies applied elsewhere.
So let's focus on the most powerful tools that the Realtor can use to sell your home. There are two pillars that support the sale of your home. They work hand-in-hand and together account for at least 90% of all home sales, in my opinion. If you did nothing else, these two strategies are enough to sell almost every home within a reasonable time period.
O.K. - out with it, you say! Well I hate to disappoint you, but these two strategies are incredibly simple. And they are not secret. They are, however, often overlooked - or at least there is a reluctance to place the high degree of importance on these strategies that they deserve. So what are these two pillars of real estate? Firstly, the home must be
priced right. By this I mean that the list price should be very close to the appraised value of the home. Each market has an optimum amount of flexibility between the list price and the anticipated sale price. When I say "optimum", this word is really interchangeable with "minimum". The typical minimum flexibilities should be observed according to your locale. The second weapon we have is the
best possible Multiple Listing Service (MLS) exposure. Now in most areas, this just means the local MLS service should be employed. In a few areas, there is more than one MLS service - meaning that two separate MLS services overlap. In this case, it is often, but not always, wise to list with an Agent who has dual MLS membership.
These two strategies work hand-in-hand. If the price is not right, the MLS service will be ineffective. If the price is right but the home is not properly exposed to other Realtors, and thus the public, through the MLS, then again the home will probably not move. So remember, employ
both these strategies and you'll get results!
Now that we have a good idea of how to get your home sold, I'd like to briefly discuss a few of the other methods that a Realtor can employ to get results. Even though we have 90% of the solution, there's no reason not to have the other 10%.
Firstly, I'd like to talk about the Internet. This is the one to watch, for sure. It is very possible that the role of the Internet will soon become primary in selling homes. It hasn't hit yet but I can see the revolution coming. Even now, most homes in Canada can be found on the "www.mls.ca" website. Personal promotion and relocation services will also be effectively served on the Net in the near future.
A sign on the lawn is a "must". It's your 24 hour ad. And many home shoppers drive their favourite areas. Advertising in it's many forms newspapers, TV, flyers, etc. - has it's use. But these methods are generally not terribly effective They tend to result in personal promotion for the Realtor rather than selling your home - although indirectly that can help to sell your home. As I have often said, "the promoters are always looking for new ways for Realtors to spend money". By this I mean that adding another newspaper or a new medium for advertising never seems to increase our sales but certainly increases or expenses. So I suggest that while an advertising presence is important, it has a fairly minor role in home sales.
Well that's a brief overview of strategies to help sell your home. Obviously, these are only my opinions. The relative importance of the points covered here may be skewed slightly in your area. Perhaps you can continue this conversation with your own Realtor.
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