I've heard that "old saying" and I wondered what successful buyers agents thought of that. I think I will ask Lyn at Active Rain. She will know.

So, basically you are saying the reason to go for listings is to accumulate more buyers.?

Hi Dennis,

I look at my listing inventory as it were a shelf in a store.  It the shelf is empty, there is no reason for a shopper to do business with my store.

You have to list to last!

Rob

That would depend.

Two or three years ago, I wanted to be a "listing agent" cause it was easy to get a home sold.

I've walked away from several listing opportunities in the last few months because I knew I'd be wasting my time and their time if I tried to sell their home for whatever reason it was.  If I don't think I can sell it, then I'll let someone else have it.  Good luck.

Nowdays, I prefer to work with buyers and concentrate on that.  Having a lot of listings doesn't do anything for me if there are no buyers.  Cheaper for US to work with buyers too!

My 2¢...

I seem to "feel" a shift in the traditional sales scenario.  I beleive it best to try and have a balanced business of listings and sales. When the market slos you need to be in control of buyers to have more control on your income.  New Technology and sites like www.cyberhomes.com from FNIS are going to take on the listing agents role even more...take a look and see if the CMA you can do there is not better than what most agents provide a seller.  As always IMHO.

Dennis, the game is, and has always been, "he who has the most listings wins". I'm just not willing to "play" that game. Home owners are not ready yet to accept the truth. Buyers who call in on those listings are being diverted to other properties. You can't serve two masters.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=hx-T0qCJqz4

Greater Orlando Area Home Owners

"We Want To Sell Your Home?"

"There Truely has Never Been a Better Time to Buy Real Estate.

It is a Buyers Market with Many Opportunities for You to Invest in."

     "But Do You Want To Sell it ?"

         http:511realestate.com

"The Bottom Line.........in this market.." is take what you can.

It all comes down to the three Ps!

Price,Price and Price, works for me..

http://youtube.com/watch?v=sqk1-q8gXcY

Vancepinions

Honestly, I prefer to work with buyers instead of sellers.  When you list their house and it doesn't sell, they blame you.  They don't care how much effort you put in or how many visitors you brought in.  Many sellers still think it's year 2005 and think that homes should sell within days and with multiple offers.  Too much unnecessary stress is being placed on listing agents these days.  A few months back, I had a listing that expired in 3 months.  During that period, I brought in 85 different visitors.  4 open houses and I advertised that property everywhere.  Free and paid ads were all over the place.  People were visiting the property from different states.  The house was just too modern and in our area, buyers prefer more of a neutral scheme.  After the listing expired, I was blamed by the seller that it's my fault that the house didn't sell.

On the other hand, if you have an established website that works on auto-pilot and on consistent basis, brings you leads that you can work with, that's a continuous stream of potential buyers.  If you have a direct MLS access on your website, people will continue to come back to you and your website to look at the latest listings.  When they're ready, they will contact you.

I guess each category has it's benefits, but in the buyer's market, I prefer to work with buyers.  I just hope the gas wasn't so expensive.

Russell says:

Many sellers still think it's year 2005 and think that homes should sell within days and with multiple offers.  Too much unnecessary stress is being placed on listing agents these days.

----------------------                     -----------------          -------

Thank you Russell, your right.

We have well over 90k homes listed on our MLS with an average of 120 days on the market and counting.

Could it be the price/bid either way is to high ?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BMCFRElyaCc

My favorite scenario is to be the listing agent and have a GOOD buyer's agent to work with on the other side.

For me, it is about exposure.   I believe that it depends where you are in this country right now.  Michigan - great to have inventory but you need the buyers.  Illinois - to me it is walking the fence -

As a listing agent - my mindset is pushed back 10 years realizing that homes in Chicago are not going to sell before you get the sign in the ground.  Those days are over.   Chicago may become more balanced and realistic whereby instead of putting in four offers on four different homes and finding out the next morning which one your client "won" - was crazy!!!  Absolutely Crazy!!  The consumer now has the time to get acquainted and to be more rationale with their decision purchasing process.

Instead of am I a listing agent or a buyer's agent - why don't we concentrate on prospecting every morning for say 1.5 - 3 hours.  Why?  

Here's the question:  What's under the hood?  I think I talked about this already but I'm just a little tired.    The Red Truck.  It has an engine but it needs fuel to make that engine run.  That fuel equates to lead generation.  I don't care what kind of market we are in.  Michigan - connect with money in Chicago or Ohio, Indiana, Wisconsin - anywhere and get investors to buy in Michigan.  For some investors, its an instant cash flow - win-win for them.  

Right now it is about surviving not thriving.   We are celebrating New Years right now because there are a lot of agents that were "wanna be's" who want to make just a little more so they could drive that BMW and appear to have.  Those agents are falling by the way side.  I have mentioned this before and will emphasize this again - Guys it is Christmas for us right now.  To me it is such a relief that the agents that were in it for the money for the upgrades in their life have dropped out.  To me - the field is ready for picking!  it's time to reconnect and get back to basics with the consumer.  The internet is so crucial and to be savvy is extremely important.  However, going to the doors of the people who have expired is alot more successful then writing them a letter.  

Did you know (and I'm sure you all do) that an employee is more productive and responsible if they owned a home?  There are fewer problems with the kids in school and those children usually go to college.  So, why not set up a program with some small company or major corporations for a benefit program based upon this concept and bring in a preferred lender to assist with the buyer process?  

I just read something from a lead generation book(s) that Gary Keller said - when analyzed, the top violinist in the world practiced over 10,000 hours in their lifetime.  The next level came at 7,500 hours.  When you break this down it means that the best violinist practiced 3 hours a day to get to the top.  For me - I studied classical music as a pianist.  when I was in the 6th grade I was pounding out 40 hours a week - 3 hours each day were just for the warmup.  I studied for 25 years - beginning at 4.  For me, this is a no brainer.  Guys, this is about lead generation and commiting everyday to meet people, to get names, to connect with sellers and buyers - to make it happen.  It's not about the end result - it's about what you did to get you that end result.

Again, as Dad would say:  "You are up to bat, now go hit a home run!"

What a DYNAMITE to the nth power post, Barb!

I also view listings as content that supports my online brand. It doesn't matter to me if it's a buyer or seller, as long as it's generating revenue and it's successful. Do a good job and the rest will fall into place.

A very successful, older Realtor in my area heads a team where she takes all the listings (only listings) and she has 3 younger Realtors (her daughter being one of them) that are buyer only agents. She is very well known and has her picture on everything, all for sale signs and other advertising.

She says she gets numerous buyers that call her from the listings and she just tells them one of the agents on her team will be happy to help them, and she moves on focusing only on listings. She got a $1.5 million listing I really wanted. I called to congratulate her and ask how she got it. She replied, "They called me because they see my signs eveywhere, that happens all the time." She has a great mail campaign where she sends a large color postcard with her latest listing pictured on the front and a long list of her listings on the back, some active, some sold and in how many days, etc. She is good!

I think her strategy of taking only listings but having a team to take all the buyers she generates is a great plan.

I noticed on the MLS even she is starting to have more listings expire and cancel, etc.

I have listed less and made more this year than any other year since I have been in business.

I guess it is where you want to focus. If you are focusing your name recognition locally, then having a lot of listings, good and bad, will get your name seen and increase business.

However, if your focus is the internet, then getting your name seen by buyers will increase your business.

If you can balance it out, that is perfect, and it is partially true about listing to last. For most agents, listing is the way to go. But, for agents who love to show homes, know the product - HOMES - and are savvy service providers, these agents will last whether they have many listings are not -- so, it depends on the agent, their skill set and their preference.

I always recoil from broad absolute statements like "you have to list to last" -- it may be true for many agents who lack buyer agent skills or knowledge, but I don't think it is true for those who possess the skills and knowledge.

Listings are less important in this market cycle than good buyer leads.

You do need listings, to attract business, but like Mike said, I too reduced my listing load this year while having the best first half ever!

Good Buyers are more precious than gold right now.  In the past, many real estate coaches recommended NOT working with buyers who were not ready to buy NOW... but that conventional wisdom is no longer sound.  

To do more business, you can begin to cultivate relationships with potential buyers and future buyers, the same way we used to cultivate relationships with future sellers...  You can start "further out" and still profit from it as long as you don't go overboard with showings and meetings until they get ready to act.  Drip email is really good for that!

Listings are less important  since your license is with a holding referral company now and have to refer them out...

"Mister bakey Vanschnauzer"