Reader Response

My column, “No March flowers for Sacramento real estate,” at Rocklin & Roseville Today, got a bit of play, when part of it was posted over at Sacramento Land(ing). One comment posted there said, “If RE agents only took listings that fairly reflected current prices, and managed those prices throughout the listing period, I would bet their personal sales would increase 50%.”



I don’t know of any Realtors who actively practice setting prices significantly above the market value because when you do that, you are setting yourself up for failure in the eyes of your client, spending time and money on listings that have a low probability of selling and creating negative advertising with your name on a stale for sale sign.



My personal philosophy on pricing is to tell the seller what I think the home will sell for and provide information to support my recommendation. I believe, seller’s who set a realistic asking price when they come on the market will generally get a higher sales price than those that come on with an above market price and then, over time, lower the asking price (see my article on pricing). You get the most interest during the first week to 10-days the house is on the market so you want price to attract buyers, not chase them away.



Although I support and encourage selling homes at realistic prices, I work for my clients. It is their home and setting the price is their decision. For the reasons above, I will NOT list a home with a price that is significantly over what I believe the current value is. But I will list it at a price above what I recommend as long as we have a plan to reduce the price in a relatively short period of time.

I hope that gives the above reader some insight on the Realtor’s role in pricing homes on the market.