It is time to sell the old place and you are interviewing local REALTORS hoping to hear that your home will fetch a "pie in the sky"  price.

Doubtful that will happen but let's take a look at why you might have that expectation.

The agent wants the listing and most will tell you the market today is more normal ( level pricing with lower appreciation). You will be informed that prices have adjusted downward from the lofty exaggerated prices of a couple of years ago. The agent will also show and explain their great marketing plan and as you will notice, they will be doing a lot of advertising and ultimately have to accept that too high of price you forced on them. So the process begins.

1st weeks open house, ads in the newspaper, brochure box on the sign post, nice property brochure and the end of the first week results, No offers. The agent said it will take a while, so the request for patience is to be expected.

What's wrong with this picture? Perhaps in your mind, nothing. In my mind, it is very wrong and it all started with the marketing plan the agent presented to you that you have to great of an influence on. Setting the Price.

The Just Listed mailing will be sent to families that own a home in the neighborhood just like yours. Do you honestly believe that the neighbors want two homes or will sell theirs to buy yours? Do you believe that they have friends that want to live next door or down the street> Doubtful. Brokerages have been training their agents to send out the Just Listed announcements for years. Why?  In hopes  that neighbors will see that you selected firm if a neighbor is going to sell soon that they should select their firm as well. Great for the agent and company, not that beneficial for you the seller.

The ad in the newspaper was not put there to sell your home. It is there to get the phone to ring and hopefully attract a qualified buyer or seller prospect ( not to sell your home however).

The property brochure box will be full for the neighborhood kids to take and throw all over the place or to attract drive bys from looky loos will likely not sell your home either. If they are serious buyers they are already working with an agent and should not be discovering your home for the first time from the flyer. If the home is within the right search parameters for the buyer, they should have already received the information on the property. The property brochure is useful but likely isn't going to sell the property. I am not going to dissect all the elements of a possible marketing plan and counter each one. The point being that most things done in a marketing plan are  useful for something or someone but can they create the desired result of selling your home? Not in and of themselves, no.

So exactly what is it in the agents marketing plan that is going to "sell" your home? For starters being in the MLS and generating a strong local market and Internet presence for your home is good. Exposing the home to the likely buyers is excellent as well. The devil is in the details but it all starts and ends with price to value. This is not easy for most homeowners to understand but it is one of the most important considerations in your selection of who should be marketing the home in the first place. 

If your REALTOR makes it crystal clear to you that 90% of any good marketing plan is setting the correct price, then you may be on to something. If the agent told you that since most of the qualified buyers for your home are already under contract or already working with an agent, and they tell you that 50% of the actual marketing plan is directed to the agents who work with the Buyers in the greater area that your home is in, you are hearing the beginnings of a great plan. If the agent has as part of the marketing plan an excellent Internet Marketing presence, hang on to that agent because your home is most likely going to be sold soon. This is, with the the following caveat. 

The CMA prepared for you and used to reinforce the entire marketing plan is a bit like looking in a rear view mirror. It doesn't tell you the future of the market but rather where the market has been. The market is ever changing with strong economic influences from sources that have much to do directly or indirectly with what your home might be worth at any given point in time. An easy example to understand that principle would be the cost of money. You don't control that cost but it influences the Buyer's willingness to purchase. If your agent helped you comprehend what the accurate current market trend is and if it happens that it be currently be Buyers Market, and you priced your home too high-big mistake! A huge mistake in fact that will take some real effort to recover from. Many sellers of course won't recover.

If you priced your home in a range where comparables have been that have been more upgraded than yours, that is another big mistake. Buyers tend to search for properties at the top end of their qualified price range. They do not expect to pay top dollar and get less. Your home will be passed over and over. Buyers that would be suitable for your home at the correct price then would just as likely not ever see it. 

This miscalculation, renders the usefulness of the marketing plan out of sync with the market and most everything done or planned marketing wise will not yield the expected results. Selling your home for the most money and in the fastest time possible will face many obstacles that should not be there.

As a seller you must clearly understand that you are partners with the REALTOR you choose and your duty is the most difficult. Understanding that you will not be the exception to the pricing rule, no matter how many nice things you did to stage the property with strenghten your position in the market. If the property is priced wrong for the current market, you are in for some very disappointing results.

Is it your fault then that the agent you hired took your listing overpriced?  That depends on you. Was it your main real consideration in the interview process and further did you accept a marketing plan that was based on the wrong ( rear view mirror) criteria. If you want professional results and have hired the professional, then you should relinquish your unrealistic hold on what you think your home is worth and allow the REALTOR to market your home correctly ( at the correct market value) to where the Buyers are and then you can enjoy the results of having contributed greatly ( pricing the home correctly in the first place) to the winning marketing plan.

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