I will present graphical evidence in subsequent posts to support this audacious claim, but right now I am interested in a different aspect of this market shift: “mental shift”. I have run into several buyer/shoppers the past month who, for various reasons, have been unable to shift with the market. Here is a sampling of what I have heard:
- It’s just not the right time for us. [been looking for 2 years]
- It’s overpriced. [sold at full price with multiple offers in 1 week]
- Not the right location. [hate where they are currently renting]
- We’re hopeful we’ll find something we like. [OMG, are you kidding me? This is work, not solitaire.]
- We’re waiting for rates to go lower. [Not really, but makes about as much sense as the prior objections]
What is it with these “terminal lookers”? The evidence that their approach isn’t working is hitting them over the head, but they don’t get it. Here are a couple of reasons they continue to fail:
- Using a discount broker that will rebate 1/3 of the commission earned. [You get what you pay for.]
- I see all of the new listings as soon as they are posted on Redfin, oftentimes before my agent sees them. [That would be helpful if there weren’t 50-70 agents that knew about it BEFORE it was posted on Redfin. That’s why “your” house was sold before your agent returned your call. This requires some explaining:]
Every full time professional real estate office that I know of holds at least one sales meeting per week. Eastside offices have between 50 and 100 agents each. About half show up each week for said meetings, although more will start showing up now that the market has turned. It is during these meetings that individual agents share what they are working on. It can take weeks and months to fully prepare a new listing before it hits the market. Most agents will share information with their office mates when they are within a week or two of bringing a new listing on. So there are at least a few dozen agents that have about a week’s lead time on your perfect house, in the perfect neighborhood, at a fair price.
There is no perfect house. Selecting a house will always be a compromise. Buying a house is at best an 85% proposition. That is, if you can find a property that satisfies 85% of your search criteria, it is one that you should seriously consider.
There is no perfect agent. So why handicap yourself at the outset with a discounter/rebater/part-timer? Hire a pro and commit. You’ll be glad you did.
Make the “mental shift” now, so you can stop talking about what you’re going to do, and just do it.
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