Is your Buffalo Realtor® telling you what you need to hear or what you want to hear?

Posted by Colleen Kulikowski, Licensed Real Estate Salesperson (716) 650-0051 on Jan 7, 2012 in Home Seller Resources, Jamestown Homes | 4 comments

What is Buying a Listing?

Buying Listings is a term used by many Realtors® when they see overpriced listings on the market. “Oh that Realtor® bought that listing…  There are Realtors® out there that will take an overpriced listing to just put their sign in the lawn and give them the ability to advertise a listing in a specific Western New York community.

You need to ask yourself:  “Exactly who does that benefit?”

The agent that takes an over-priced listing knows full well that home sellers are influenced by the signs in the neighborhood and will call agents that have homes listed in their area.  They also know that they are not going to sell that home without significant price reductions are ok with that.  Their goal is to break into a new market.  They think that they will get the seller to drop their price after a couple of weeks.  Meanwhile you lose valuable marketing time and start on the slippery slope of Chasing the Market Down.

Read also: I just want my home SOLD!

Why is it bad when Realtors® Buy Listings?

First off the first 30 days are the most important in the marketing efforts of a home for sale.  Today the most important factor in getting a home sold is PRICE.  That is not to say that location is not important, it just means that homes priced correctly are selling quickly and in many instances with multiple offers in Western New York.  Start out too high and you are going to have to do price reductions to come in line with other homes for sale in Buffalo.  Wait too long, you will have to reduce even lower than what other Realtors® may have told you when you first started looking to sell your home.

Read Also: My Buffalo home is about to expire!

When you overprice your home — you immediately are at a severe disadvantage to the other listings on the market.  As you sit on the market, people ignore your home and the longer you sit on the market, the more people wonder “What is wrong with that home?” Your home becomes stigmatized and you are in the position to Chase the Market Down.

Read Also: Do you know the magic three words in Western New York Real Estate?

Selecting a Buffalo Realtor®

Selecting an Real Estate Agent based on the list price they suggest is a dangerous proposition. Your selection of a Real Estate Professional should be what they bring to the table and the analysis that they do on your home.  For instance, there should be a breakdown of what is for sale, what has sold.   Sometimes it is important to look at the home compared to other homes in several different ways.

• You may look just at square footage
• Number of bedrooms/baths
• You criteria may be to just a small section of town
• Factors like new construction in your area will affect the value of homes that are 20 or 30 years old
• Many times there are no comps that come up with so there are many adjustments that are made for the homes you are comparing

This type of analysis can take hours if done correctly.  Be wary of agents that first ask you what you think your home is worth and then magically come up with a price that matches your number.  Although it may be hard to hear the potential value of your Buffalo home, believe me it is a lot harder to hear that you need yet another price reduction after you list your home.

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• Do You have the Credit Score Blues?
• Why You May Need a Price Reduction on your WNY home
• Why pricing is so important in the sale of your Buffalo home!
• My Western New York Home For Sale Is Not Selling!
• Get Out of Buyer’s Way!
• Buyer Assistance Programs in Western New York
• Is this a good time to purchase a home in WNY?

Selection of Area Homes for Sale:

Thinking of selling your Erie County home? Interested in finding out the current market value of your single family home, condo or investment property? Then call www.BestBuffaloHomes.com at (716) 650-0051 to discuss what is happening in today’s Western New York Real Estate Market. We would be happy to give you a personalized Comparative Market Analysis for your home or assist you to purchase a home. View additional WNY Market Area Statistics here.

Our Featured Homes for Sale: