But Agent, I need X amount of money for my home! You don't understand!

I recently read a post by another agent addressing the pricing of homes in today's market. It was straight to the point and I could have rebloged it but with a couple of my clients going through the same thing, I thought I would try to make some sense of this market.

I have had two sellers trying to sell their homes with that exact philosophy. Both of them were previously listed by other brokers when the market was at its peak. Both homes in my opinion were originally listed way too high to begin with and both sellers came down considerably when they listed with me but not to where I wanted them to. They told me that neighbors sold their homes for more and theirs is much nicer.

Both of my sellers had offers on their homes a year ago, but did not take them because "We need X amount of dollars" and both sellers looking back wish they would of taken the offers. What brings me to post this is that unfortunately no matter what we try to tell them as Realtors, they do not listen and then they get mad at us.

Mr & Mrs Seller A got a second offer on their home yesterday. The offer came in through an agent that I have a good amount of respect for. She did her homework. This offer came in $35,000 less than the previous offer started at and has zero chance of getting to where the other one was at before the seller refused it. Mrs Seller told me that I do not understand, I never have understood that " The value of their home has fallen and their stocks have fallen so they need to get $X for their home."

What I want to tell you if you are considering selling your home is that it does not matter what you need or want for your home. The actual sale price is determined by the market. Unfortunately, the value of homes (including mine) has dropped. The value of IRAs (including mine) and stocks has dropped. So even though it is our business to sell homes and represent your interest, as real estate agents we do understand. I have never met an agent who would not prefer for there listing to sell at a higher price. After all, usually our commission is determined by a percentage of the sale price. The more money that you get for your home, the more we make.

Unfortunately, I had to tell my seller if they can not sell without getting X amount of money, maybe they should consider keeping their homne until the market goes up. The problem is that none of us or fortune tellers. Next year the market could be better or worse for our sellers.

Please, if you are going to sell, get a competive market analysis (CMA) done on your home. Do not let an agent buy your listing by telling you that you can get whatever price you need. Once you hire an agent, listen to them in regards to price, things you need to do to enhance the chance of your sale, etc. Remember, we have chosen this as our career and know the real estate market. We have been through many of the homes that are currently on the market and lots of the ones that sold. If you live in the Bucks County real estate market area, Marcie Purcell and I would love to help you sell your home and find a new one. We want to put the SOLD sign on your property.