As a residential specialist in my market, it is my job to know and be able to sell houses in any kind of market. There has been a lot of rumors about prices dropping and etc. Most of this information has been coming from sources that are not involved in Seattle real estate market, and therefore don’t know much about what’s going on in the Puget Sound of our evergreen state. There has also been a lot of talk about internet based real estate companies, that they will soon replace the high cost realtors.
Well, that is a bunch of bull$#!t. As a listing agent, I realize that homes do not sell just by being in the MLS or the internet. It takes a marketing expert for that area to advertise the property to the right audience to procure a buyer. That is something that does not happer automatically when the home is put in the multiple listing service or internet.
Real estate market is a locally driven market, therefore there is a lot more to it than internet. The agent has to research the local market and come up with a source of a possible buyer for the particular property, and then market through various channels to that group of people. That is why the real estate commissions are what they are. Nobody in their right mind would do a job for free. If the agent is charging a small commission, then don’t count on getting this kind of marketing I’m talking about here. They simply are not experts in the market, and therefore the only way for them to get your business is by discounting the commission. Just because you are paying low commission doesn’t mean you are netting the most money from your sale. The only way to get the most money from the sale of your property is to attract the most buyers, and when the offers come in, have a negotiations expert do the job of getting the most money possible.
The way I make my money is by either providing a great real estate service that results in less hassle, less time, and more money for my sellers, or discounting my commission and possibly getting more listings. The problem with the second option is that I do not provide much marketing to these sellers, because I don’t have time to deal with that. Many companies that follow that business model don’t even negotiate on behalf of their sellers. They don’t have time for low paying job. They want to be compensated fairly, therefore they don’t do much service for the small commission they get. How is that for an eye opener?
The model I follow is providing the most service for the dollars spent. It takes an expert in marketing and negotiation to net the most money in the sale of real property. I also have to spend my marketing dollars wisely and on the right kind of advertising, so that I attract the most buyers for that home. This again takes expertise in the market. I work every day on different ways to sell those listings, so that I will be compensated for the work that I’ve done. In the slow market, it takes even more work to sell a house. I have a specific marketing plan for every house I list on how to sell it. Of course, I cannot make a buyer for that home, but I have to know where to look for them. That is what separates me from some other bad real estate companies. My service is valued and well compensated for by my sellers. They love what I do to sell their home.
