SarahGray Lamm ~ Chapel Hill / Carrboro / Durham Real Estate Blog ~ Agent Outlier

“We hear what you're saying but we NEED to list at our price. We have FAITH in you...besides if we get the price we NEED, you make more money. Isn't that what you WANT?”

I am always dumbstruck by that logic coming from an otherwise intelligent seller.

I have just finished explaining that you have a 90 day window to sell your home. A 90 day window in a market averaging 10 months supply of available homes at the end of 2009. The qualification period for the government tax credits, love 'em or hate 'em, will end in 90 days. Over. Not coming back. You NEED to have your home under contract by then and the supply of housing in this area is more than triple that.

I have explained that every single day agents all over the Triangle are hitting the SUBMIT button on another new listing.

It's the third week of January 2010 and there are over 700 new listings in the last seven days alone in Wake, Durham, Orange and Chatham counties.

Another new listing which has been freshly painted, decluttered and staged for sale. Another new listing that opens the possibility of owning a great home for a qualified buyer who WANTS a deal...a great deal. And why shouldn't s/he? It's a buyers market and this buyer either has nothing to sell in order to buy because s/he is a first timer or was wise enough to take the advise of a real estate professional and get their previous home perfectly positioned to be at the top of another buyer's wish list. Done. Gone. Cash in the bank.

I have explained that you purchased your home at the top of the market. I know you were excited to move into this wonderful home and with such a great mortgage that you barely had to touch your savings. In a few years, when your house had appreciated normally (not those crazy appreciation rates we heard about in Florida or Nevada) but 'normally' at 5-6% a year (excuse me while I pause to reflect on how many times over the last 30 years I have said that the real“normal” in my book was 1-2% per year) you would be able to “break even” in a year or two, sell your home at a modest profit, pocket the difference as your next down payment and move on to do it all over again in another town. Well, that WAS the plan, wasn't it?

I have explained that the pool of potential buyers for your home is limited by several things beyond your control. First, they must have a job. Second, they must have some savings. Third, they must have good credit, not OK credit, good credit. They must be able to get an interest rate that allows them to afford the payments on your home. Those interest rates are available at least through March. But once the government stops buying mortgage backed securities (in March) they will have to get that loan from a bank. I think it is clear that banks have no intention of loaning money to home buyers at the current rates of under 5%. It isn't rocket science that rates are going to go up. An interest rate rise of just 1% will mean a potential buyer for your home must pay $10,000 less for it in order to have the same mortgage payment.

Which brings me to the other thing we just talked about: Sellers care about Price but Buyers care about Cost! Remember back a couple of years ago when you were the buyer? Did you care what you paid for the house or did you care how much your mortgage would cost you every month?

So I guess the answer to your question is: Thanks. I appreciate your faith in me but really, shouldn't faith be reserved for things which cannot be proven? I'd prefer you simply trust me and my actual facts. I have absolutely no special skills which allow me to unerringly locate the one buyer out there who has cash, no television or internet access allowing them to find out that this is a buyers market, no real estate professional working for them and who WANTS your home so much they will pay whatever you NEED.

As for my commission? I make no commission on a home that does not sell. I create no good will by making a promise on which I cannot deliver. I have yet to list a home on which the commission I made would allow me to retire with no worries about the future. I don't expect to ever list one.

I expect to work hard, offering my hard earned wisdom to my clients and to rely on their appreciation of my skills and services so that they feel good about referring me to their friends. It's a good business plan. I do what I have done for over 30 years because I love it, I'm good at it and I can make a profit at it. In that order. So can we rephrase the question?

I have FAITH that after you have processed all of the information I have provided, you will understand that if you NEED to sell your home and are not one of the millions doing so in distress, you will WANT to make it as attractive as you can, both in price and condition, to the well informed and qualified buyers out there. If you do that I can predict that you will move forward as one of them yourself...a well informed and qualified buyer...now that's a good business plan!