QUOTE (BradTaylor @ Nov 16 2010, 04:19 PM) Do Realtors deliberately ignore listings that only offer a fixed commission? In such a tight economy I would think a realtor would take anything he or she could get.
Love to hear your thoughts?
I understand your though process but you might want to try and see it from their side.
If you were a commissioned sales person where would you focus most of your attention?
A) A listing that was discounting your commission or
B) A listing that was paying you the standard rate or
C) A listing that was paying you an additional bonus?
You don`t need to answer the question but human nature dictates that many people (not all) would gravitate away from the discounted commission and towards the standard or higher than standard commission. All things being equal why would you or somebody else take a job that paid you 40-50% less? Maybe if there were no jobs available but in this particular circumstance there are plenty of houses available yours being one of them. In this type of market realtors don`t need you or your house as there are plenty of them available. You need them more than they need you.
I understand your idea that if realtors are hungry they`ll look at anything but I don`t agree with it and I think the logic used by many sellers is ass-backwards. In a slow market why shoot yourself in the foot by using a method that is likely to repel realtors vs attract them? Sellers need people walking in the door in droves so why not use a method that might just attract more realtors instead of turning them off?
I`ve listed and sold quite a few of my own properties (with another realtor before I was licensed) and I typically included a $1,000 bonus to the buyers agent, generally with some form of criteria that must be met such as conditions to be removed by a certain date or possession by a certain time etc. I did this to draw additional attention to my property. I can`t honestly prove that it worked but I`d rather stack the odds in my favor.
The discounted commission thing might work in a super heated market when houses are scarce but probably not so well in a slow market with an abundance of product available to consumers.......and their realtors.
I`m not saying its right but its the way the free market works, supply and demand, and in this case the demand is not in your favor. In the long run I think your approach will hurt you far more than the $2-4,000 you`re saving. Your house will potentially sit on the market longer costing you additional mortgage payment then you might get frustrated and act the way many sellers do and keep dropping the price until it sells never mind the cost of lost opportunities because you didn`t have the cash in your hand to take advantage of other opportunities around you that will make you money.
Having personally bought and sold over 100 houses I`ve learnt to go the other way. SPEND MONEY TO MAKE MONEY ie Fix the house up a little so it looks good, stage it so it presents well, add a bonus to the buyers agent to attract more of them then price the property well and in my favor and watch it sell quickly and for a good dollar.
Going cheap isn`t the way to go.
