In short - Yes it is!

The first thing that you may hear from a vendor (seller) who is getting limited or no buyer response is, “Well, the agent said we would get $X but we have only had a few inspections and no offers.”

Sadly, a solid proportion of real estate agents in a hot market, where listings are hard to come by, may try to ‘buy your business’ by giving you a price assessment/estimate that is likely to be music to your ears.

Then after several weeks of minimal buyer inspections and no offers, the agent skulks back to you and utters those horrible seven words, “You may have to drop your price.”

And here is possibly the biggest reason why seller/agent relationships evaporate in an instant, that leads to society in general having a less than enthusiastic opinion of agents.

It boils down to the professional management of vendor expectations.

I am proud to say, that the horrible seven-word seller/agent divorce statement does not passed my lips.

My mantra in almost 20 years of Real Estate consulting and sales is:

“My job is to do everything ethically and humanly possible to find out what the market is willing to pay, today, and negotiate the best possible price; whilst helping you reach or exceed your expectations so you can realise the goals you set out to achieve.”

So, it all comes back to the initial meeting with my potential clients.

First and foremost, I want to know what your expectations are.  Most importantly your expectations around price, but also what your goals are – why you want to move and is your plan supported by current market conditions?

Then, based on those expectations I have one job; find out what the market is willing to pay for your property and relay all my findings back to you so you can make the big decisions.

And they are:

• Meet the market and sell your home or property;
• Hold on for dear life to your expectations and hope for a sale at some stage down the track;
• Take your property off the market and look for an alternative plan.

So how do you know if your property is overpriced in a hot market?

1. Buyers enquire, inspect and provide feedback that does not line up with seller expectations – and the feedback I am talking about is price – “Mr and Mrs Buyer, what do you think this property will sell for?”
2. There is no enquiry. Loads of views via the big websites. Social media but little or no activity (enquiries, inspections) from any of those ‘lookers’. This is better known as ‘The deafening silence of the market’.

The hardest task for me, or any other professional agent, is to provide the feedback from buyers or the stats regarding low enquiry rates to my vendors knowing there is a possibility your expectations may take a hit.

It’s a responsibility that cannot be shirked.

One of the biggest tell-tale signs that a property is exceeding market (the buyers’) sentiment is how long it is on the market for without selling.

If other similar properties are going under contract in 30 days or less, and your property is still on the market after 60 days – ‘Houston we have a problem!’

Understandably, many agents don’t want to disappoint their vendors and will avoid the feedback provided by buyers (or lack of) and suggest the possible remedies for fear of earning the wrath of their client.

But I have always helped my vendors by them by telling them the truth - and we all know the truth can be a hard pill to swallow – because ignoring it can lead to poor decision making, frustration and pain.

No matter what type of market you are selling your home in – Hot, Cold or Balanced – realism is the key and working toward attracting buyers in order to have them compete against each other, and not you, is the key to a great result every time.