How Well Do YOU Know the Market?

A key to our success in real estate has been to effectively describe what is REALLY happening in the current market conditions, and helping our clients position themselves to get the most equity possible when selling, and if they are buying (especially in a hot market)  to know what value the market is bearing for a property so they don't end up paying too much.

I get the call many times from clients and the people they refer to us is that they saw a property (typically a for sale by owner) that just dropped their price $20,000 and they are calling me to find out if that is a good deal. First of all, if a price drops that much, it was probably WAY over priced in the first place and a big drop like that still might not have them in the current "market value" based on what buyers are currently paying for similar properties.

The experience of selling over 2,500 properties gives me the insight so many agents don't understand. I can actually "SEE" what is really happening in the market and give my seller clients the best advice to get then next buyer that buys. You see, every buyer you miss is a possible buyer, and you may have just helped your competition sell their house. In fact, many sellers are losing their buyer and the opportunity to get the most equity possible when they overprice their property. While they are overpriced, the seller who started out overpriced has dropped their price several times, and is now price correctly... so they steal the next buyer. Now the overpriced seller has to wait for the next buyer. We don't know when that next buyer is coming, AND the buyers are still only going to pay fair market value. If it takes overpriced listings to drop their price to the right price to sell, then there will always be "right priced" properties in the market and the overpriced properties will soon drop the price enough to get a buyer and steal that buyer from the next, new overpriced listing.

One key element to our success and helping our clients get the most equity possible AND make sure they don't underprice their property is to accurately evaluate the market before we put the For Sale sign in the yard. Once we determine what the property will most likely sell for (based on all of the current 'SOLD' activity for similar properties in their area) we position ourselves to be the most competitive property on the market. That, by the way, doesn't mean the cheapest.. and we don't want to be the most expensive either.

Once we determine the best position to HIT THE MARKET and we go live, then we need to watch real time activity to determine if we hit the market at the right spot. I want to share a perfect example of what an experience agent can provide a client to be their real estate specialist and help interpret the market to get the most equity possible.

This is a sample of a market review I just sent to a seller today. We analyzed the market. The market is definitely a hot market at the time I did this review, and I was able to predict that we would probably have about a dozen people through the property in the first week. Even in this HOT market, we have had the most traffic over any of our competition, and as of the day I printed this report, we had not gotten an offer from anyone. Reviewing the market and making strategic moves that make sense is how we get our clients more equity. In this particular case, we now know the seller is not leaving any money on the table. In fact, one price adjustment will most likely result in a sale sign in their front yard.

How well do you know the market? How well does your real estate agent know the market? Do you have friends or family that chose the wrong agent, and really didn't know what was going on?

There is no time that should be wasted "giving this agent a try" and if they haven't truly analyzed the market and they are pulling numbers out of thin air.. it is time to get a real estate professional that can open your understanding of what is really happening in the market and where the best position is to get the most equity. That sometimes means we are getting ten's of thousand's more than we would have thought. It is all about "supply" and "demand".

Take a look at the type of information we provide our clients to understand the market better than most real estate agents.

Every property is different, and market conditions change from area to area, type of home to type of home, and neighborhood to neighborhood. It takes professional experience and advice to determine the best strategy for your property. You should never "take a stab at it" or "see what happens".. you can do that from time to time, however make that decision with smart, accurate information.

Contact Brad Korn before you make any decisions about buying or selling real estate. My experience of 100 sales per year and over 2,500 properties in my career puts me in the top 10% of all agents in the KC area and in the top 15% of all agents in the surrounding 7 state area.

Frustrated Seller: NO Notice for Showings... and Agent left lights on

I had a client that is selling 2 properties with us right now. One is vacant and the other has a renter in the property. He has been really frustrated with the past couple showings.

 

I wanted to share with you my response to him commenting on an agent that gave no notice for a showing and another agent that showed his vacant property and left all the lights on, and the door open.

 

Here was my response to the seller after we made some changes in our listing instructions to do our best to get agents to be more mindful and responsible:

 

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I do apologize for the inconveniences you are experiencing, and selling and buying real estate should be FUN! The thing to really keep in mind is that there is really no common sense "etiquette" taught in most (if all) real estate schools AND most agents only sell one house every month or two... so they never really get great or experienced at selling real estate. Then on top of all that, Buyers only buy a house once every 10 years, and they are just excited about seeing homes and they call ALL the time adding more houses to a list of homes to see, and they especially don't think about whether or not their request was enough time for the seller to prepare.

What you want to know as a seller is that when the buyer throws on a "last minute" showing or even if the agent does... they are probably looking at a bunch of other homes. Every showing that can't be accommodated will 70% of the time just be 'passed over' because they probably have 5-8 other homes they are going to see.

Whether they give you notice or not... you can lose them as a potential buyer. The last minute looker has probably considered your property as a possibility because they weren't finding what they really wanted, and when we can't get the showing through when THEY want to go through, they will talk themselves out of seeing it.

As for agents leaving lights on and doors unlocked... believe me, I GET that is so frustrating and for our industry as a whole, I am embarrassed that someone could go into another persons home, and not treat it like their own, or respect the fact that they are in a strangers home. AGAIN, the reality is, we want every agent to show to every buyer whenever they can get the to look even if they don't give us notice (for the reasons above). AND along with that comes making the property available to agents that sell 4-10 homes per year. In fact, the National Association of Realtors sends out stats that show the average Realtor sells 4-6 homes per year. That is truly not enough sales to understand the level of professionalism full time Realtors would LOVE to see in our industry.

So, my advice to every one of our clients is in order to make sure you get the most money and most equity for your property and to make absolutely sure you sell as fast as possible is to accommodate every showings no matter what. When you do have to cancel or change a showing, even for all the reasons above, just say to yourself "Even if this is the buyer that will buy my house right now, and pay the most money for my house, I don't want to sell my house today". I know this is a little harsh, but 24 years and over 2500 sales... it is the best advice I can give every client.

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The Korn Team has sold over 2500 properties over the past 24 years and we bring ALL the advice and professionalism to our clients to best take advantage of the current market conditions for their market. We are glad to help you understand HOW to beat the market and HOW to get the most equity possible when you are selling a home.

My House is Not Selling! I Will Wait till After the Holidays or Spring...

Never give up. My advice around the Hoiday's for our clients that decided they wanted to "take a break" was always as follows. I would ask them a question. "Do you still want to sell?" Most would say yes. "If a buyer comes into the market place tomorrow, and they would be a buyer that could fall in love with your property, and if they would offer you full price (or even just a $1,000 less) would you still want to sell?" If they answer, Yes...then I say, "well, if your home is not on the market, and that buyer does show up, they may settle for 2nd best and buy something else. That, unfortunately is a missed opportunity, and most people who buy a home will not move for another 3-5 years...so, we never get that buyer back."

Just to prove these are not just words.... We sold a home on Christmas Eve. The purchase price on the offer was full price! This home had been on the market for 6 months, and the Seller made a comment that she was just going to take it off the market till Spring. That could have been a HUGE mistake.

The Korn Team NEVER stops marketing our properties. Did you know that over the past 60 days (November and December we have had 198 showings on our properties. There are buyers out there, and we never give up looking for them until we get an offer on our client's property.

If you are feeling frustrated and want to give up on the selling process...give us a call. Let us help you understand and intrepret the current market conditions. We can help you come up with a plan to get your property SOLD! In 2009 we helped over 111 Home Buyer's and Seller's accomplish that. In fact, The Korn Team sold 11 properties at OVER asking price. Another 15 or so sold within $1k-$2k of asking price, and 10 of our properties sold in less than 30 days.

Feel free to contact us at 816-224-KORN (5676). It is a tough market out there, but properties are selling. Don't give up, and be patient. With our proven markeing plan, the buyer for your property will know your property is available the day they come into the marketplace.

Brad Korn
The Korn Team
www.kornteam.com
(8716) 224-KORN (5676)
brad@kornteam.com