Consumers are tired of hearing "Price Reduction" educate them on "Market Positioning" and show them real value

    A large part of our job is to educate consumers & clients on how real estate transactions work and what influences the outcome of their transaction. This is not always the easiest thing to do especially when things are not going their way or living up to their expectations. The market we've experienced for the past 2+ years has been especially difficult for our sellers with decreasing home values, tighter lending and buyers sitting back and waiting. It seems that most sellers have been 6 months behind the market with pricing and buyers are 6 months ahead of the market in pricing expectations.


    What do we need to do to help our selling clients achieve their goals? Get it priced right for the market! Pricing is always the issue and if it's priced right it will sell. We know this and internally the seller knows it's true but may be unwilling to give that reduction because they haven't heard a good reason to yet. Telling them "You have to reduce, you've had 8 showings, 2 open houses, 4 ads and no offers" will usually illicit a defensive response "You need to do more open houses, run more ads, etc".

Take a different approach. Whether it's a new listing or an existing one have a conversation about "Positioning" their property in the current market.
Is it positioned correctly? How many homes are for sale in their town? How many are similar in Square footage? How many in style? Price?
Show them what their competition is and how their home compares in pricing position. Are they competitive? or are they just another tree in the forest? Do they understand the difference between a product and a commodity? Have them do a search for a home as a buyer in their market town for the size property that they have listed and let them experience the results first hand.
Talk about carrying costs and add up theirs with them. Extrapolate those expenses 3 months out, then 6 months, then 12 months and compare that to the amount of reduction needed to position their home competitively.
Price positioning is marketing and taking the time to educate your seller on positioning their commodity for the market will set you apart.