Last week the article “Sellers should throw the dog a bone” created some great controversy and discussion.   We had one seller say to us that he would throw a low ball offer into the waste basket and never respond to it, but we also had one agent say what the heck and told her seller to counter the low ball with a bottom line number.  Now they are heading to closing.  Not that all sellers are the same, but one thing is for sure, they sure get testy when you start talking about money.

Sellers need to take the slack out of their pricing

Recently we have been advising our sellers to take the slack out of their pricing.  In the good ole days when prices were going up, our sellers and our agents became accustomed to padding the listing price with a little negotiation room.  While this was a good idea then, it is a bad idea now.  The reason there is no room for slack is that buyers now have more to choose from with the available inventory.   In fact, if a buyer has two properties that they are considering and one has negotiation room, the buyer will in fact go to the property that offers less negotiation, but a better price.  Our Hilton Head Market Trends shows us that the homes that are selling offer less negotiation, so why pad the price?

How do you know if a Hilton Head property is overpriced?

There are several tools we have developed to help a seller understand the current market and why they are getting few showings.  The first and favorite is the “Buyers Interest in Available Listing Graph” that shows interest and activity based on price.  Seems to me every agent should carry one of these in their tool kit.  Once a seller starts questioning the lack of showings and complaining about the number of buyers in the market, this graph should be explained to the seller.  While just a few years ago it was OK to have a property 10-20% over valued, todays market will only allow for 3-5% of negotiation room.

Sugar coating is not good for any of us!

Bottom line, it will always be the sellers call as to setting or adjusting price.  We are marketers and it is our goal to provide our sellers with honest information about the market.  As their agent I have learned that sugar coating is not good for either of us!  If you are exploring the market and would like to review the selling process, you can email me at robbie@robbiebunting.com anytime or call me direct at 800-932-3652.  Happy selling!