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Ann Arbor Real Estate Blog

Blog about Ann Arbor and Saline Michigan

“Gotta Love Crooks, I Mean REALTORS”

On Ann Arbor.com today, and using the recent market data released by the Ann Arbor Area Board of Realtors, there is a comment I would like to address today.

The comment is “gotta love crooks, I mean REALTORS.

I was going to answer over there and maybe I will but I believe it needs a longer response than I like to give on Blog comments.

REALTORS Are Not Crooks

A seller and a REALTOR work together to determine the price of where a home should be listed.

The market (or current buyers) looking for a home during that time period, and what is on the market determine the value. Period

The numbers don’t lie, and if a REALTOR, looks at the recent SOLDS and currently LISTED homes it is not rocket science to determine, where the home should be listed and where it will sell.

The Problem

The problem is not that REALTORS are crooks, the problem is:

1)    Some sellers don’t look at the data, and say…”If I can’t get such and such out of my home, then I am not selling,” or “I have to get this much from my home so I can move.”

2)    The second problem is some REALTORS don’t have the guts to stand up to sellers and tell the truth. They would rather “accommodate” the mindset of the seller and list a home “over market value”, just to have a listing in their stock pile.

3)    Third, some REALTORS, don’t even do CMA’s, (Comparative Market Value Reports) they just walk through the sellers home and ask what they want to sell it for and throw it in the MLS.

Listing a home at Market Value is NOT Rocket Science, it is not a science at all. It is the professional opinion of an experienced REALTOR, looking at the historical data,current listings and pricing the home accordingly. 

Once I have studied a neighborhood, and put together a CMA, if the homeowners in the Ann Arbor Area don’t like the price, they can interview other agents to see other opinions. In fact, I encourage it.

My typical time to do a CMA is 4 hours, so by the time I meet again with the sellers I know the data, the neighborhood and am confident in my price.

The last few years,after looking at their comps I have told 10 or so homeowners that I can not sell their home for the price they want. I have wished them good luck and moved on.

Of the 10 or so, four called me back, after trying at a higher price with another agent. “Get over here and list my house, Missy, we should have listened to you.”

Others I have watched the home listed and seen price reduction, after price reduction taken until it sells sometimes a year later below what I told them in the first place.They are chasing the market down.

Some have chosen to wait the market out until home prices rise again.

Know Who You Are Hiring

Is the REALTOR you as a Ann Arbor Area home seller interviewing experienced?  Do they list enough homes to know the market? Are they familiar with the area to determine the value? Are they showing you the market data? Do they have a written out Marketing Plan?

I disagree with the comment by Towny of the AnnArbor.com article, REALTORS are not crooks, but some are not experienced and some will take any listing and “throw it against the wall,” to see if it sticks sells. And some REALTORS don’t have the guts to tell the seller the truth.

One of my favorite quotes comes from Consumer Reports in 1990,

“ Beware that some devious agents will at first suggest a very handsome price. Then, after they have the listing and the house hasn’t sold they’ll come back a with a pitch to lower the price.”

Here is a pdf version of the recent Ann Arbor Area Market Data by the Ann Arbor Area Board of REALTORS.



3 thoughts on ““Gotta Love Crooks, I Mean REALTORS”

  1. Amen, Missy. Well stated. The scary part to me is that “…some REALTORS, don’t even do CMA’s”! No wonder some in the public view our industry not as professionals!

  2. Very well said! I don’t want an over priced listing…what’s the point?! It doesn’t sell, the seller isn’t happy and we don’t make money…and no we don’t work for free! Unfortunately, there are so many lazy agents who just want a listing. Maybe it’s a good thing…Agents like us, who know how to price property and work hard, have sellers calling us to sell their property, not just list it. Great post!

Thoughts?

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