One of the primary reasons why our clients hire a Realtor® is because they are entrusting professionals to handle all aspects of the sales and purchase process for them. In return they expect, among many things, proper marketing.
Touching on Gary Morris’ plight for help on his post titled “I’ve had it up to here”, he is experiencing managing a large, nearly entirely overpriced, listing inventory. In addition, his listings are not selling and are becoming stale while his catalog continues to grow with freshly added ones. I can empathize with Gary knowing that it does cost more to carry a large inventory for a long time while sales lessen. We have to swallow many draining increasing costs such as advertising, gasoline, insurance, education, fees, dues, and etc.
Now a day, we are faced with another dilemma. The market is eagerly trying to correct itself downward. For that, we have to re-educate sellers ferociously to convince them that “comps” do matter again. Even at correct market prices, buyers are still not buying while they are sadistically taking pleasure at teasing sellers.
You constantly read in the newspaper or hear on the news: “When businesses face a drastic financial drain, they immediately trim off the surplus (usually the human factor suffers the most) in order to stay afloat.” This is one of my many quandaries: We, Realtors®, are our own business; therefore, logically, cutting back on expenses would be an astute self-business management safeguard. How do we approach sellers to tell them that due to the present and indefinite lousy market condition, we will do for them only this much while they are expecting that much from us? I have to cut back somewhere - but where, advertising; trade my car down to a Mini Cooper; tell buyers I will only show them 4 properties instead of 8; etc.?
Another quandary: Since I began my real estate career in 2001, I have built quite a considerable word-of-mouth business for myself. Now, using common sense (the comps), lately I am rejecting nonsensical listings left and right; how much will that smear my good standing reputation? Will customers tattle-tale to their friends in my farming area “don’t use that salesman, John Bourassa, he is so stuck-up, he won’t take my listing. Besides, he doesn’t know what he is talking about. He was trying to tell me that my house is worth only $$$,$$$ when it actually is worth $$$,$$$,$$$.”
Are you cutting back expenses and, if so, where?
John