The market is changing, but I mean that the confidence bottom has dropped out of some real estate agents. I have always been a student of the human condition. How people react when their ego is hurt, what they do when they are in a position of power, or do they go on the defensive when threatened. A real estate agent is supposed to be your protection from these absolutely normal reactions to situations, especially when the bottom drops out of the real estate market.

Barrier to emotion, is one of the benefits to using a real estate agent to negotiate. Any agent really, whether it is a sports agent or an actors agent, is a negotiating tool. When the seller, or buyer as it may be, comes back with an outlandish response, your agent is there to respond using wise tactics.

All too often agents either just say, “Thank you for the offer I’ll see what I can do” or they over react giving away their clients real position. Either way hurts their client, not good business skills. If a client is going to pay for full commission service, they should get what they pay for. A great real estate salesperson, who understands the selling process.

I am going to talk more about the negotiation process in the next few days so stay tuned for more.

Popularity: 25% [?]

Located in West Seattle on SW Alaska just west of 42nd next to the Alaska House, this park was planned for development in 2005.  With 200,000 for acquisition costs with a projected construction start of Summer 2007, we are a little behind schedule in the Alaska Junction.  Up until just recently this has just been a fenced off area, near the Alaska Junction.  They have spread the grass seed and now we are watching it grow.  With 2008 rapidly approaching I doubt we will see it finished this year, and by the looks of the design it wont be finished for quite a while.

Here is what it currently looks like:

I have to say that even this sparsely planted grass and yellow tape, it is better that the chain-link fenced gravel field that it used to be.  The West Seattle Junction will be a better place when this project is finished.

Jonathan Martin
GuideToSeattleRealEstate.com

Popularity: 31% [?]

Pricing a home, the key to a sale.  If pricing isn’t right the first time ,we all know that the home may not sell.  In this market, pricing is key.  Here is situation were the comparable pricing that was initially presented was the correct price to set the home at, not what the seller wanted. Well, we all make mistakes.  How we learn from them is the key. This is an example of a time when I should have been more forceful and possibly not taken the listing. I took this listing and allowed the seller to talk me into a higher price for the home, bad mistake.

The home is a beautiful 3 bedroom rambler just south of Seattle.  It had an updated kitchen and the owners took fabulous care of the home and the yard, it showed like a champ.  With all of the updates to the home it comped out at 289k.  During the listing presentation I allowed the seller to talk me up to 299k for the home.  I said ok based on a pre-signed price change form for 30 days out.  I gave a day or two for him to discuss it with his wife.  She talked him up to 309k and had another agent friend that would list it at that price.  With the added pressure he said that we had to try it at 309k for a month and then lower it to 299k.  I explained to him that most of the buyers in the area are looking for a home that is below 300k.  Pricing the home above this would exclude the home from most searches.  He insisted.

Here is the error.  I like the sellers, they’re great people, they have a great home.  I took the listing.  Now I did my part as a consultant, giving the right direction and advice.  But when the home didn’t sell at 309k or at 299k the sellers lost motivation.  3 months went by with very few showings.  They must have thought that no one wanted their home.  But that wasn’t it, no one could find their home because it was overpriced. By the time we had the price lowered below 300k the seasons had changed, the market had drifted.  We took the home off the market earlier this week. 

When I gave the keys back to the seller he said, “Hopefully if things improve we will put it back on the market in the spring.”  But, while I don’t have a crystal ball, at best the market is going to be flat not better.  If the market doesn’t improve and they are going to stick with the above 300k price we are just going to repeat the past.  The definition of insanity is repeating the same action over and over while expecting different results.  I am not insane:)

Ok so what did I learn.  I took the listing at a price that was too high, because if I didn’t someone else would have.  While I gave the clients the right advice, I wasn’t forceful enough about it.  By not turning them down I did them a disservice.  They were just trying to get as much as they could for their home.  Who could blame them?  But in the end it backfired.  There is actually no way of knowing if the home would have actually sold if it was priced how I recommended.  I do know that it would have had a better chance. Other homes in the area that were crap compared to this one sold at around 289k and 295k.

Even if I have to turn down business, I will not take an overpriced listing.  Not even for people that need to get the most from their home.  If they can’t sell then they can’t sell.  I don’t set the price, buyers do.

Again so it is burned into reality: “I will not take an overpriced listing!”

Popularity: 22% [?]

So how many blogs do you read?  I currently read about 25+ regularly.  Most are real estate oriented others are Seattle specific and a few just for fun.  But using the Internet Explorer RSS reader was driving me crazy.  It just took too long to go through all of the posts and decide which conversations to join.  I did a little research and exploring the notion of using a RSS Feed Reader.  I decided on Google Reader.  Mainly because of its ease of use and my ability to read through the daily’s quickly.  Do you use an RSS Feed Reader, if so which one?

Popularity: 29% [?]

After our little late fall rain, the neighborhood hole is now a lake.  This is the corner of 42nd and Alaska in West Seattle.  They are down about 60 feet and planning on going further.  The lake has slowed their progress. They have been pumping water out for the past two days. 

Popularity: 22% [?]