Approaching the Price Adjustment Conversation Without Stress
POWERFACT: The price adjustment conversation can be a source of stress for many real estate agents, but it doesn’t have to be.
By Real Estate Coach and Speaker Darryl Davis, CSP
So, what do you do when you have a listing that’s been on the market for a while?
Making Promises You Can’t Keep
Be careful what you promise when it comes to pricing. If you say, “This is what your house is worth,” and then it doesn’t turn out that way, the price adjustment conversation instantly becomes that much more difficult.
It can be embarrassing to be wrong, and when we are wrong, we could be viewed as less intelligent, and then it weakens your power to coach the homeowner. Never give a definitive pricing opinion but offer a range. Your job as a real estate professional is to look at the range but making the decision on price is the job of the homeowner and determining the value of the home is done by the appraiser.
What To Do When The Conversation Time Comes
When its time to have that conversation with a homeowner, set up either a face to face meeting, or a virtual meeting. My preference is virtually so you don’t have to wear a mask and your clients can see your face.
Share your screen with them and treat this like an update on what is happening with their property. Here are some dialogues you can use in your conversation with them.
“What I like to do with my clients when a house has been on the market for over a month, its time to look at the marketing that’s been done and what the feedback has been.”
Then, show them the marketing that you have been doing for them, as well as all the advertising, the inquiries and phone calls that you have received from buyers and other agents, and take the time to them the whole picture of what has been happening while their home is on the market.
“Let me give you an update on the market because the market dictates our current value. We need to look at the competition. The reason we look at the competition is because when buyers are looking for a house, they aren’t just looking at your house, they are looking at your house in comparison to all those other houses. Now, those houses come and go, some sell, and some are new listings. Pricing is fluid, much like the stock market. It goes up some days, and down some days, depending on the circumstances of the day and the industry. Let’s look at the whole market.”
Go through all the listings of similar homes that have sold, and that have recently come up on the market. When you show the homeowners these houses that are selling, they are very likely going to be priced lower than your homeowner’s house. When you look at the new listings of similar houses, they will likely be priced lower as well.
What do they have in common? They are all priced less than your homeowners, and while you don’t tell them that directly, it’s the message you are showing them.
Once your homeowners get a look at these sold homes and new listings all selling and priced lower than their own home, they are naturally going to start asking you, “Well, geez. Do you think we are priced to high?”
Here is some dialogue that you can use to answer that question:
“Well, let’s look at the ones that have sold and the ones coming on the market and they are lower than where you are at, and yes, this higher price can certainly be a challenge. I think lowering the price would put us in a much better position. At this price, these new houses that have come on the market that are similar to your house, we are essentially helping them sell their house. A buyer is going to look at your house, and then these new houses, and your house is at this price and that house is at that price, and you just made their house look like the better deal. So yes, I agree, I think we should adjust the price.”
Ready, Set, Go!
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