Reasons to Validate Overpriced Listings in Sacramento

A luxury home on the water in Sacramento, by Elizabeth Weintraub.

A pile of newsletters travel through my email each week, many of which I do not open. I just look at the headlines. I send out my own newsletter every week to thousands and thousands of subscribers. About.com will not let me tell you how many subscribe to my homebuying newsletter, but it’s an astonishing number. I don’t know why people care what I have to say or why they even read it. Some send me emails that say they have no interest in real estate at all, they just want to see what I write. Which floors me.

Lately, the sentiment I see throughout the real estate industry appears centered on overpriced listings. Much of it is giving advice to sellers but mostly to their agents. This advice is do not overprice and do not take an overpriced listing. In some ways, this is very insulting, and I’m gonna tell you why.

The notion that we as real estate agents, for example, are the Know-all and Be-all in real estate is absurd. You heard me. Yes, we are real estate professionals but that doesn’t mean we know exactly how much a home should sell for. Because we don’t. We know the price that is likely to attract a potential buyer; we know how much previous buyers have paid for similar homes. We know what is in pending status and the inventory on the market now, but we do not have a crystal ball. We are also not appraisers, but that’s a whole ‘nother story.

As a listing agent, I can help a seller to choose a sales price, but I do not choose the price for them. I am a Sacramento listing agent who works at the discretion of the seller. The seller has a very high percentage stake in the sales price, more than 90%. My stake is a relatively small slice of the pie. My job is to sell the property. I market real estate to buyers. I am a salesperson. The day a listing agent forgets that is the day an agent should quit.

Agents: I say who died and made you ruler of the universe?  I want to grab these people by their shoulders and shake sense into them. It is silly to proclaim to the world that you and only you know the magical list price number for a seller. You don’t. You don’t really know how much a buyer will pay until you try to get it. You don’t really know how much a home will appraise for until an appraiser appraises it.

I have sold homes in my life that never in a million years should have sold at some of the prices they sold at, according to regular comps. There are many ways to evaluate a sales price. I tend to get the price the seller expects. Because that is my job. My job is to sell real estate in Sacramento. I am very clear and focused on that job. If I believe I can sell it, I’ll take the listing.

I recently had another home in Sacramento appraise at a value that astounds the neighbors. It astounded me that a buyer was willing to purchase the home under the terms and conditions it required, including price. Not only was the buyer willing to pay that price, but the home appraised at that price. I listen to my gut instincts, but I also listen to the seller. Then I formulate a marketing plan, and I sell that home. Real estate is not a black-and-white business. It’s a moving business. Constantly in motion. Like the Everglades.

While Elizabeth is in Cuba, please enjoy this previously published elsewhere blog.