Best of the no% real estate

[JBen]

Given I'll be selling soon, thought I'd chime in.

First thing to keep in mind is that the markets are somewhat different, in different regions. So what is occurring here, or dynamics here, may not hold true "there". For the most part Trimmer is right (see below), but one thing he isn't mentioning is that buyers (and sellers) are more savy/in tune than they were X years ago.

But still suffer from the two most powerful motivators known to mankind.

Fear and Greed.
And the truth is, most people (the majority of the population) are inable to completely divest themselves from the decision making process and make cold, calculated, unemotional decisions. Especially when it comes to determining "what my house is worth". Using an extreme example for illustrative purposes...people get attached to their houses...It's where their children were born and grew up.....................Its where they sank $30,000 grand and hard labor into landscaping and or interlock or.....

Sometimes doesn't matter how much work a person puts into a house...A house is only worth what other people are willing to pay for it........,.....Example....Im sure back in 2008 many people were absolutely sure their houses were worth X.......Well when no-one is looking to buy....doesn't matter if you've sunk $400,000 in upgrades into it..Just ask residents of Florida....

Some agents do over inflate the market value to get the listings.....If you've done your own homework, or keep your thumb on the pulse in your area (I've followed my neighborhood for 5 years, know its highly sought after and there is very, very little turn over. <<<this makes it a little harder to get current values, but bodes well for me...Across the street a major artery homes are similar but turnover is high...theres always 2-5 homes for sale in that neighborhood, in mine..............only 1 or 2 in a year....You already have a reasonable idea. I have a reasonable idea, despite being trained to be emotionally detached, capable of divesting myself I know I will still have atleast some bias.

If the two agents I've interviewed are too far divergent from each other, and my own assessed value (which they aren't) in either direction well guess what...

Red flag

Reputable agents do the research required to accurately assess what a property will sell for according to location and market conditions at the time they're contracted to act. The problem arises when a client steadfastly insists that their property is worth much more than others for a host of reasons and demand the listing be priced much higher than the current market will bear. The end result is the property sits on the market for weeks and months without an offer,the client gets angry accusing the agent of not working for them and deliberately attempting to get them to lower the price. Business relationships are damaged beyond repair and the client badmouths the agent all over the place which is usually always inaccurate and completely unfair.
I know that there's a very rare few agents that will deliberately over-inflate a property just to get the listing,lock in a client and then,sit on the property until the client agrees to drop the selling price. These types of agents usually don't last long in the business,thankfully,because their reputations become widely known,especially,in a small market. The old adage is true in sales that "good news travels fast and bad news travels faster."

One of the worst things you can do as a seller especially these days (its a sellers market and there is very little inventory......is.....over.....price)....it will sit and sit and sit despite the lack of inventory. People know these things and when they see on the market for 21 days in these times.........

Red flag....as well

[trimmer21]

You been an agent long?Not to be negative, but. That does sound like a possibility. From what I've seen more are apt to pawn your place cheap than those you speak of that will overprice. If I've met a dozen that'll slash your price, but none that'll bump it up I'd say the latter group you mentioned maybe somewhat less

I'm involved in the real estate business on a part time basis,but,not as an agent. I've never worked with an agent that will "bump up" a listing just to get it. They're simply not the type of people I or my family associate with. My point is that in the market in my area,it's happening because there's so little inventory available. With so many people looking to move out of Toronto who have sold their homes for bat-shyte crazy prices,they think nothing of spending huge amounts to out bid other buyers which is driving the marketing conditions in commuting distance,out-lying areas through the roof and,for now,sellers are cleaning up. If looking to move outside this area,like north or east,there's a breath-taking drop off. No one knows how long this will last because it truly is phenomenal.
Blanket statements like I'm seeing from some posters,here,are way to general to be considered de facto evidence that all real estate agents are not above board. I know it's simply inaccurate.

[Oddmott]

I never said a word about agents being below board. I said they're lazy and playing a numbers game.

If the market isn't red hot, their only idea to push a sale is drop the price. That's it. They're lazy and unimaginative.

[JBen]

Trimmer one other dynamic we are seeing that others may not be.

Years ago. Lets call it a mere short 10 yrs. Durham region was an underpriced (relative to the West and North) and under developed region. Sort of a sleepy gem.....Word got out, or rather people started moving East....So as you said, people selling their smaller homes and moving to East Burbs are downsizing in price (relative) and upsizing in home for the buck. Another aspect (sort of depends on price points) is that some people looking to buy "family homes" are routinely losing to investors. Either those looking to buy and flip who see large profit margin in the unit in question.....Or people who want to buy and rent. The first and second time family home buyers (think young family wanting more room) can't compete with the people who don't mind paying a little extra because its either a fix-up and flip with lots of potential....Or destined to become a rental...

So when it comes to multiple offers..........guess what's happening.

When I bought my place years ago, I always had every intention of selling once the 407 came in hence why I've paid very close attention the past 5 years. There are so many things to consider, not the least of are current market conditions.

[Bluebulldog]

From my own experience. List with an agent, not the biggest, but possibly a newer agent who's actually willing to listen to their client. Too many "real estate professionals" are just interested in doing as little as possible, and then collecting the big commission cheque.

Inform the agent in writing, on your listing agreement that you will also be listing the property on other sites like Kijiji, etc, and that if ANY sales leads are generated from that exposure, then the agent will be able to show the property ( easier since they are usually available) and will draft paperwork on your behalf, for a reduced commission ( 1-2%). You then list it wherever you can.....with a DETAILED description of what you've done to the property etc. Prospective buyers then contact you via email off the site, and you then respond with the hyperlink to the realtors listing, and their contact info. That way you have a very definitive record via time stamp where the lead was generated from.

[impact]

I'm currently on house #3 with no plans on moving any time soon as we purchased a modest bungalow 24 years ago on a couple of acres, raised 2 beautiful kids which both recently left the nest and now I consider this my retirement home.

House #1 and #2 we sold privately. They were homes in suburban Ottawa with row after row of clones. I was determined not to line the pockets of a real estate agent back then and took on the sale and marketing of those 2 homes. My background is engineering and nothing to do with marketing but nonetheless took on the project. Within 3 months and about 5 years apart both homes were sold with a tidy profit.

I simply looked around the neighbourhood and determined the average asking price of the cookie cutter homes. We visited open house showings to determine that indeed we were comparing apple to apple and priced our home accordingly. I then made up some fact sheets that I provided to people that visited during our open house and by appointment with real photos attached! Advertising was done in our local newspaper. No MLS listing. This was 30 years ago. Well before Kijiji and social media even existed.

Sure, it was a bit of a pain with sometimes less than desirable people showing up at the door and the constant harassment by agents trying to sign us up but in the end it was well worth it and with the couple of hundred dollars spent in advertising and stationary I ended up miles ahead of the game.

I recently did the same again when I sold 3 separate parcels of recreational land that I owned.

Sweet secret = your real estate lawyer will handle the transaction for you with or without paperwork from an agent.

Bonus = you save the commission.

[Oddmott]

The one thing working for you impact was the readily viewable "comparable".

As stand-up has pointed out, his property has significant features that no other property on the market has. And instead of hyping those significant positives, Realtors are telling him to take a wash on it.

My parents are in a similar place. Massive 3800 sq ft home, with an attached 3 oversized bays garage, with a 1000 sq ft professional cabinetry shop and a 1000 sq ft commercial kitchen. Both the pro grade kitchen & workshop could be converted to all sorts of other uses.

There is NOTHING like it on the market so the Realtors get scared and only focus on lowering price to reflect something that isn't similar... Rather than put any effort into marketing one helluva neat property.

[trimmer21]

My parents are in a similar place. Massive 3800 sq ft home, with an attached 3 oversized bays garage, with a 1000 sq ft professional cabinetry shop and a 1000 sq ft commercial kitchen. Both the pro grade kitchen & workshop could be converted to all sorts of other uses.

There is NOTHING like it on the market so the Realtors get scared and only focus on lowering price to reflect something that isn't similar... Rather than put any effort into marketing one helluva neat property.

That's a very unique situation. Do the agents you've approached have experience listing commercial property? If not,maybe your parents would contact an agent from outside the area with the experience needed. They could cast a much wider net. The only fly in that ointment would be zoning. There's no point listing it as commercial property if it can't be used as such by a buyer.

[hamilton0729]

List it on kijiji and watch the agents fill your inbox.

[Oddmott]

It's a split zoning. They pay residential rates on the sq ft for living space, carpentry workshop and garage. But the industrial kitchen & walk-in cooler sq ft they're taxed commercially.

This is in a rural township, it took some fighting to work out. Not sure if it's able to be grandfathered into the sale.

They're not actually looking to sell. They just want to be ready to jump into the market if they continue to have health issues that make it impossible for them to continue living / working there.

Tbh, I have no idea what is the experience levels of the various Realtors they've spoken with. But I would imagine they focused mostly on just residential agents, expecting g buyers to just want lots of sq footage.