UnSold Listing Inventory
Have you ever heard or thought:
“I need help. My listing is getting shown a lot — but I haven’t had a single offer. I know it’s priced right!”?
“I’ve had this listing way too long, why won’t anyone show it, or make an offer?”
Reality Review
Whether a listing is shown frequently or attracts Chihuahua sized showing numbers and zero offers, there are two actions you can do. Both of them aren’t easy. If it was easy, everyone would do it. Here you go:
1. Property Presentation (Merchandising & Staging) – Humans are human. We make snap judgments. We comparison shop. When house shopping, buyers mostly use their physical senses; eyes, ears and nose to pick and choose. If it doesn’t look, smell or sound attractive, we pass. If the property doesn’t compare favorably, buyers keek looking. There’s no skirting around human behavior.
The first step to amping Property Presentation is to be honest with yourself and your seller. Ask yourself, is every aspect of the property merchandised and staged in excellent fashion. Not 80% or 90% – 100%. Or better than your competition. Be honest with yourself and your seller(s). You know if your listing is attractive or not. You get paid to educate and persuade your sellers to take the actions required to merchandise and stage the interior and exterior of the property so that it compares favorably with it’s competition. It’s for their own good, you have to be strong in this area.
When sellers won’t agree to merchandise and stage their property in a positive light, they can compensate for the shortfall by adjusting the price downward. Downward to the point where a comparison shopper would think, “I know it doesn’t look so hot, but the price is so compelling, I’d be foolish not to buy it.” If you don’t get the property merchandised or staged
favorablycompetitively, it won’t sell.
2. Positioning Price – If you’ve you taken steps to make the property attractive inside and out, and your property promotion is generating a favorable number of showings, there’s only one thing left to adjust – the Positioning Price. It’s a bitter pill to swallow. Asking for a price adjustment sucks for everyone. Yet, it’s one of our most important responsibilities. Everyone involved will feel better about this if we’ve done our in-depth homework. Which means we’ve updated our market analysis and we’ve previewed our competition (just like a buyer does). After we’ve presented our data, if the seller remains reluctant, set showing appointments to physically show them their competition — then ask again for an appropriate reduction.
If you’ve done your part with the property promotion and intergalactic syndication, you’ve shared the value and importance of Property Presentation and choosing a competitive Positioning Price, and the seller(s) remains unmoved and resolute, you should not go down with the ship. Instead, consider asking the seller to release you from the listing – hit the eject button.
Happy Ending
Like all other types of business, the goal is to make a profit by selling inventory – not lose money by holding onto unsalable listing inventory. When we hold onto unsalable listing, everyone loses. When we let lazy or fear prevent us from wisely advising the seller, everyone loses.
The next 90 days or so will be the most active of the year, it’s time to suck-it-up and kick ourselves in the butt and come correct. If we want happy endings we either need to advise and adjust – or release – that’s life my friends.
PS. There is one other thing that could be out of whack. Success is doomed if the real estate agent doesn’t have clue-one about the importance of persuasive and pervasive property marketing, promotion and syndication. In this post, I’m assuming you’re on top of your game in this department.
Joe Loomer
June 1, 2011 at 6:08 am
Well said, Ken. Price and condition (position) are the two golden geese. Price too high, no one comes anyway. Price right but don't stage it well – they come but don't like it. Get both right, you start packing.
Navy Chief, Navy Pride
p.s. of the 1600 plus members of our board, only 450 or so even have their emails set up correctly for board information. Kinda wonder how they're positioning their clients if they can't do rudimentary, stay-alive tasks.
Ken Brand
June 1, 2011 at 2:50 pm
Thanks Joe. Hope your year is shaping up nicely. That's a pretty startling number of unplugged in people. I guess the upside is that In That In The Land Of The Blind The One Eyed Man Is King. Cheers.
Cindi Hagley
June 1, 2011 at 12:02 pm
If a home does not sell, it comes down to one of three "P"s – Price, Property, or Pitch. Pitch, being the marketing of the home, and Property dealing with issues such as staging and curb appeal.
Properly priced and properly marketed any home in any market condition should sell within 30 days. The key word here is yet another "P" – properly!
Some agents spend so much time chasing the market,it's hard for them to see where the market really is.
ken brand
June 2, 2011 at 5:33 am
Thanks Cindi, like a lot of things, it's easy to understand, but for some, it's seems hard to do. I think it's the fear of experiencing seller disapproval, anger, disappointment, etc. But that's what we get paid for, sharing the truth. Cheers and all the best for a BIG year.
Cindy Marchant
June 2, 2011 at 7:04 am
Dang…I was hoping for a magic bullet…lol
ken brand
June 2, 2011 at 7:17 am
I have good news Cindy. If you'll go to your nearest mirror and take a look. You are the Magical Silver Bullet. But, you knew that. Cheers.
John Perkins
June 2, 2011 at 8:35 pm
I realize I operate a Full-Motion Video company but I have proven again and again that full-motion separates you from the rest of the market and the ROI is 3-6% above other area listings and the sales time is faster. Why not invest in yourself and your clients. Full-Motion is above Staging because you can reach more interested people who might normally not visit a home from another city if they are exhausted of looking at photo-shop pictures of homes. Buyers want reality and knowledge of the community around the home. This is what entices them. Wherever you are in the country look up a Full-Motion provider and put not only the home but the area around the home (popular downtown, nearby museum, important schools, yada)…. Best on your sales.