Upon reading the article from Inman News - Death of a Listing Presentation, I have put to rest the presentation portion of the listing presentation and adopted EDUCATION. Managing a seller's expectation is done through preparation. We are better able to do that if we give them the (as Lenn Harley would say) Hard Core Real Estate Talks! I've come up with some things that should be explained during your education process:

1. You should let the seller know HOW they can contact you. Is it email? What's your response time for replying to emails? What is your response time for a phone call? How soon can they expect to hear from you after leaving a voice mail? This is important, you're setting the stage for the entire relationship. TELL THEM NOW what they can expect!

2. Explain to them a BUYER'S MARKET versus SELLER'S MARKET. Then SHOW them facts. Show them the current inventory and explain how many months of inventory there are in the area.

3. Give them numbers! But at the same time, don't OVERWHELM with too much data.

a) Average days on market - overall market and their sub-division (if applicable).

b) Number of homes for sale in their price range - overall market and their subdivision.

c) Number of homes that have sold in the last 6 months/1 year.

d) Homes comparable to theirs that are currently on the market - high price/low price

This will kill many birds with one stone. A seller can gage how long their home will be on the market, at a minimum. A seller would know how many listings their up against. A seller would know where their asking price will be in comparison with the others. They will know (if they don't already), what's been going on in their neighborhood.

4. What is being OFFERED on homes that are selling? Seller assistance on closing costs, home warranties, bonus' to selling agents. A seller should know if/what other sellers are doing to make their home more appealing to buy.

5. Here's a big one. What will the BUYERS SEE when considering their home? Provide the seller with printouts of active listings and go over details of the features of those homes. Everyone usually (almost always) thinks their house is BETTER than the others. A good way to show them that is to take them on a tour of the competition's homes.

Ask the seller questions. Find out their motivation.

Are you willing to sell your house at fair market value? (Typical response: "But I'm not willing to give it away.") At what price would you consider you were giving it away?"

Sellers must know that this is a TEAM effort. Everyone is working toward a common goal. That goal is to get their home SOLD!

Courtesy of Yvette Smith, SRES® REALTOR®
WILLIAMSBURG REAL ESTATE
757-753-7472
Long and Foster REALTORS®
6610 - J Mooretown Road
Williamsburg, VA 23188
YvetteSmith@AtHomeInWilliamsburg.com