July 8, 2025 • 23 mins
If you’re a real estate agent trying to navigate seller conversations in today’s unpredictable market, this episode is your go-to guide.
We’re diving deep into the psychology of sellers who still think it’s 2021—and the strategies real estate professionals need right now to lead with clarity, confidence, and compassion.
In this real estate market, overpricing isn’t just risky—it’s a recipe for getting skipped over entirely. So how do you help sellers see the truth without killing the vibe?
We’ll cover:
- Why sellers are struggling with pricing reality (hint: it’s not just Zillow)
- The 5 phases of seller grief—and how to move them from denial to acceptance
- What today’s buyers are really thinking (and why that matters in your pricing pitch)
- Tools every real estate agent should use to present pricing like a pro
- Common objections—like “Let’s list high and see what happens”—and how to respond without sounding pushy
- Red flags to watch for before you take a listing that might drain your time and credibility
Whether you’re new to listings or a seasoned real estate agent, this episode will help you sharpen your pricing conversations, protect your clients’ outcomes, and build trust that leads to SOLD signs.
Because in real estate, listings don’t pay the bills—closings do.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hello there.
So we are in peak summer market, whatever that means for where
you are at.
Today, I wanted to dive in tohow to talk to sellers in a
shifting market.
I feel like the market isshifting in the majority of the
country and I wanted to get intohow can you help sellers
(00:21):
through pricing decisions withreal strategy, compassion, even,
and knowing your market, reallybeing the leader when you show
up to a listing appointment,especially in a market where
sellers are watching Zillow orRedfin or whatever their
favorite app is of choice, andnot necessarily the statistics.
(00:43):
So here's the thing If yourseller still thinks they're
going to get 50,000 over askingthe first weekend on the market
because their neighbor did in2021, it's honestly not their
fault.
They are just misinformed andthat is our job to fix.
So this episode is your sellerconversation crash course and
(01:07):
I'm hoping by the end of it youwill walk away with the tools
you need to have a real talkwith your clients without
killing the vibes, and theconfidence to push back without
being pushy.
Also, language that helps youget listings priced to sell and
not sit helps you get listingspriced to sell and not sit.
(01:30):
I think we have to talk a littlebit about why are sellers
struggling right now withreality?
And I really think a lot of itcomes down to the fact that we
are in a media headline market.
People are scrolling onwhatever social media platform
of their choice and one day itis market crash, the next day it
is inventory crisis and thenews is not helpful in most
(01:54):
cases.
I also think they have bugs intheir ear, friends, family,
giving outdated advice, sothey're saying ask for more.
It's still a seller's market.
And then there's what we liketo call psychological anchoring,
where they heard that theirneighbor got $800,000.
(02:14):
And now that they expect thesame because, even though that
comp might not be relevant, theyare really fixated on.
Oh my gosh, that house sold for800K.
I need to make that happen formyself.
And it's important to adopt agood mindset when you're dealing
with clients who are reallystruggling with reality.
(02:34):
You are not here to burst theirbubble.
You are here to guide them tothe best possible result and
conclusion and, in my opinion,that requires honesty.
Not a sales pitch, not hype,just good old fashioned honesty.
Tell it like it is, withkindness, and I really think
(02:56):
most sellers want that.
They hired you for the truth.
They don't want you to just bea yes woman with a locked box.
They want you to tell them whatthe real deal is.
I also want to dive into alittle bit about buyer
psychology.
So I'm going to give you alittle buyer psychology 101.
And this might be helpful tobring up to a seller.
(03:21):
So this is why your seller needsto understand the other side of
the transaction.
So let's flip the script.
If your seller is hyper-focusedon what they want to make,
they're honestly missing half ofthe story.
Today's buyers are cautious,they are stretched and they are
skeptical.
(03:41):
And if we don't understandwhere they're coming from, we
don't win their attention, letalone them even making an offer.
And it really is all aboutattention.
So what are buyers thinkingright now?
They're really worried.
Honestly.
They're like what's my monthlypayment with these rates, these
(04:02):
7% interest rates?
Am I overpaying for this house?
That's one of the biggest fears.
Also, what else can I get forthis price?
So they were comparisonchopping.
They want to make sure thatthey're really understanding
what their dollar gets them.
And then they also, in the backof their head, are wondering
why hasn't this one sold already?
(04:23):
Why hasn't this one sold thefirst weekend on the market.
What's wrong with it?
So here's some ways that you canapproach this with your seller.
Buyers today aren't just askinghow much it is.
They're asking is this a smartdecision right now?
And if we're overpriced, wedon't even get to answer that
(04:44):
question.
We will just get skipped over.
And if we're overpriced, wedon't even get to answer that
question.
We will just get skipped over.
And that really is.
What's happening is we'restarting to see buyers just
totally skip over listings whenthe seller and the listing agent
were like well, if someone'sinterested, wouldn't they just
make an offer?
But we're seeing people justnot even tour it because of the
pricing.
So getting that marketing priceright is so crucial.
(05:08):
Here's an analogy that you canuse if it's helpful.
Imagine shopping for a car.
So we have two SUVs.
They're the same year, samefeatures.
One is $10,000 more.
Are you calling the dealershipof the one that's $10,000 more
or are you scrolling right pastand going to the one that's
(05:29):
$10,000 less?
I mean, you know my answer I'mgoing to the one that's $10,000
less and negotiating that too.
But that's how buyers aretreating overpriced homes right
now.
They're not asking questions.
They literally are just movingon.
So I think we need to reframethis to our sellers and really
we need to let them know that wewant the buyer and we want to
(05:52):
attract the buyer who's going tolove your home, but they have
to see value in it and not justa listing price.
So it is really crucial thatbuyers are seeing the value and,
honestly, that comes down tonailing price.
So it is really crucial thatbuyers are seeing the value and,
honestly, that comes down tonailing price.
We're also dealing, I think,with some semblance of seller
(06:15):
grief.
Now, if you know the fivephases of grief, we're going to
dive into them in the context ofa home seller.
But pricing resistance isemotional, it is not logical and
sometimes the pushback on pricethat you're getting it's not
about you or even the house,it's just about their grief,
them coming to grips with thefact that they're not getting
(06:37):
the price that they want.
So if you can recognize wherethey are in the process, you can
lead them through it withempathy.
And I know real estate agents,I think, would make the best
therapist, because we're so goodat leading people through
emotional situations.
But let's go through the fivephases of seller grief.
So the first phase is denial.
(06:57):
So what sellers are saying inthat stage is like no way, it's
only worth that.
No way, I can't believe it.
And what that really means isthat they're clinging to the old
market.
They are not accepting where weare, the current reality.
The next phase after denial isusually anger.
(07:18):
So they might say somethinglike well, my neighbor got 850
last year.
That's absolutely insane,that's ridiculous.
And the feeling behind that isthat they feel like they got
cheated.
They really may be angry atthemselves for have waited so
long or not timing the marketcorrectly, so that can be a
(07:38):
really strong feeling where theylike missed the boat and that
sucks.
The next phase is bargaining.
So you might hear them saysomething like let's list high
and just see what happens.
And they're basically just likecan we outsmart the market?
Can we try to make this happen?
Like I know I missed out, butlike maybe we can work something
(08:00):
out, maybe we can negotiate andbargain.
And the next phase is sadness.
So maybe they're just reallysad about what the current
reality is and they might saysomething to you like I can't
believe we have to go that low.
Oh, that's so depressing.
I can't believe that I couldhave sold for $75,000 more last
(08:22):
year, and really what they'regrieving is that financial or
emotional loss like that $75,000could have done something
really amazing for their life,and so it might just seem like
75K to us, but there might be areally deep sadness or sense of
loss because that was money thatthey potentially thought that
they could count on.
(08:42):
And then the last phase ofgrief is acceptance, which is
all right.
I'm coming to grips with what'sgoing on.
So what price will thisactually sell at?
And once people get to thatphase of acceptance, that's when
they're really ready to moveforward and get their home sold.
So again, those phases aredenial, anger, bargaining,
(09:03):
sadness and acceptance.
And that's just the five stagesof grief.
No matter what kind of griefyou're going through but you may
not realize that sellers aredefinitely going through this.
In a market shift, I alwaysfind that empathy wins the day,
so being able to say somethinglike what you're feeling is
completely normal.
(09:23):
The market's changed reallyfast and I know it's hard to
hear a number that feels lowerthan you expected, but I am here
to make sure that you actuallyget the number that we land on
and not just list it and hopethat something comes through.
I also think you can use someempowering language like it's
not about what your neighbor got, it's about what buyers are
(09:43):
willing to pay today in thismarket.
Or we're not settling, we'rebeing strategic so you don't
lose time or money.
And lastly, you can saysomething like I'm not here to
pressure you, but I am here toprotect your outcome and get
your home sold for the highestamount of money in the quickest
amount of time, or whatever goalis important to that seller.
(10:07):
Okay, so buyer psychology,seller grief aside, let's get
into how you can present pricinglike a pro.
Here are my pre-listing prepmusts.
You have to come armed withmarket data.
I am a data nerd, so findwherever you can get that data
(10:27):
from.
Rpr is free for all realtors.
Check that out.
I know in our DC market we haveGetSmartChartscom.
The MLSs often have a lot ofgood data, so figure out your
source and then start pullingfrom it.
Do not just do an MLS dump oflistings.
I think that that is nothelpful.
So the things I like to pull arethe days on market trends for a
(10:50):
specific neighborhood.
So on average, or the median,how long are things taking to
close or go under contract.
That is a really importantthing to know because if it's 21
days and you reach day 21 andyou have had no interest, that
means you are not beating themarket, so something is off.
The other thing I like is theoriginal list price to sale
(11:12):
price ratio from the past 90days.
So are we getting 100% of ourlist price?
Are people getting 97% of listprice?
So that can give your seller anidea and you an idea, of how
much negotiation is going on.
The other thing I love to use ismonths of inventory.
So traditionally people havesaid five to six months is a
(11:36):
balanced market.
I really think anywhere we'reseeing three months, four months
of inventory.
You're going to like homes areselling but they're taking a
little bit longer.
So just knowing, are youtrending up on that?
Is it trending down?
Is it staying stable?
This can help you setexpectations with your clients
because you can say inventory isdecreasing or demand is
(12:00):
decreasing.
So what we're seeing is thatit's going to take five months
for everything on the market tosell at current demand levels.
So having those statistics canbe really important to
presenting a realistic marketpicture to your seller, and I
think stats can speak forthemselves and you don't have to
defend them.
(12:20):
Stats are the stats.
So get good at using statisticsand I'm sure your broker can
help you.
Someone is able to explain howto use this to your advantage in
listing and pricingpresentations.
The other thing I like to useis the pricing pyramid graphic,
and that shows how the buyerpool shrinks as prices rise.
So it's essentially showingthat if you list from zero to
(12:45):
negative 10% of a price, you'reprobably going to get X number
of buyers in the market.
So you can Google that.
Google the pricing pyramidgraphic and you can find that.
But I like presenting thatbecause it's a good visual on if
you overprice, you're reallymissing out on the majority of
the market.
And lastly, everyone loves agood client story.
So if you have examples of pastclients that have made smart
(13:11):
pricing decisions versusstubborn pricing decisions, I
think that real life stories canbe really helpful.
So any experience you have thatis applicable to that listing
or that client definitely shareit.
People like to hear real worldstrategies on what's worked and
what hasn't, so here's somephrases that I like to use when
(13:33):
it comes to pricing Buyers donot care what you want as a
seller, no offense, but theycare what it is worth to them
and what else they can get forthat price.
So we have to be the bestoption on the market.
Also, when it comes to days onmarket this is another one is
that every day on market makesbuyers ask one question what's
(13:54):
wrong with this property?
And then, lastly, the otherphrase I really like, which is
overpricing doesn't test themarket.
It actually makes the marketignore us.
And those first two weeks onthe market are crucial to
building interest and urgency.
So those are my tips forpresenting pricing, presenting
(14:16):
market stats.
Now let's say you presenteverything and you have some
seller objections when it comesto pricing pushback.
This happens frequently.
So I'm going to run you throughfive objections and how I
handle them.
So the first one is let's listhigh and see what happens.
(14:37):
So my response is typically Icompletely understand that
instinct.
You want to get as much moneyas possible.
But today's buyers, they haveoptions in the market.
So if we miss that criticallaunch window, we're going to
lose leverage.
And if we have to drop theprice later, they're going to
wonder what's wrong, and thenwe're approaching the market
(14:58):
from a position of weakness.
So I suggest practicing themost common seller objections
and your response to them.
You should not use what I sayword for word.
It should be something thatrolls off your tongue and that
you know very easily and I'm nota huge believer in memorizing
scripts, but I do think that youneed to be able to have talking
(15:20):
points when it comes toobjections.
The next one is Zillow says it'sworth more or Redfin says it's
worth more.
So I like to say Zillow is agreat starting point and
everyone looks at it.
It's very normal.
Almost every listingpresentation I go into Zillow is
going to come up.
But here's the thing aboutZillow it is a computer, it's
(15:40):
not a buyer.
So let's look at the realcomparable sales on what real
humans actually paid forproperties that are similar to
yours.
So pivoting telling them.
You know it's normal, likeeveryone looks at Zillow, but
let's look at actual comparablesbecause that's going to be the
information that's most helpfulto us.
The next one is that we don'thave to sell.
(16:01):
We're not in a rush andhonestly that's a kind of tough
one because sometimes you mightwant to run from that, but you
can say that's great, nopressure.
But when you're in a must-sellposition, that's actually when
you have the most power to pricestrategically and attract the
right buyer on your terms.
Number four is we put a lot ofmoney into upgrades and we need
(16:25):
to get all of that back.
We get that one actually prettyof like very frequently when
people have done renovations andyou can say, I totally hear you
, some upgrades absolutely addvalue and others are just more
personal and they're more yourpersonal taste.
So let's break down the onesthat today's buyers are willing
to pay extra for and how we canhighlight those to maximize your
(16:48):
return.
I think it's important to notphrase it like you're never
going to get your money back onthose, but let's frame it in the
positive, which is some ofthese upgrades that you made
absolutely add value.
So let's highlight those tomaximize your return.
And then, lastly this is a toughone because we are running into
this now, which is I can'taccept having to list this for
(17:08):
less than I paid a year ago andthat is so hard.
I remember in 2008, 2009, 2010,.
Oh God, this was like all thetime.
So I think the first thing isyou just have to empathize,
which is I hear you.
I know it's really frustrating,especially after such a big
investment and the marketdoesn't always move the way that
(17:28):
we want to in the short term.
But we can control how quicklyand how smoothly your property
will sell and also how weposition it to minimize your
loss and move you forward.
So I think that's a really hardone, but it is important to
just empathize and let them knowthat you're gonna do the best
you can to get them as much aspossible.
(17:50):
On the price side, I also lovecreating visual comparisons so
you may have some examples ofactual homes in your market.
So I'd choose two.
We could have an overpricedhome or a well-priced home and
then tell the story of each ofthose.
So it could be that theoverpriced home had two price
drops and ended up selling in 80days for 95% of asking.
(18:11):
And then we have thewell-priced home, which had
three offers sold in seven daysand it sold for asking price.
So you can use this in yourlisting presentation or your
pricing conversations, but Ialways find real-life examples
are really helpful.
Now I would be remiss if wedidn't talk a little bit about
red flags to watch for when youare chatting with a seller, and
(18:35):
there are three that I want youto be aware of.
Now some of these may not beyou have to run immediately, but
it's just things to be carefulof and they are things that I
have learned over my many yearsof listing property that you
need to get curious and dig in alittle bit deeper.
So the first is we want to testthe market.
Now that typically means thatthey are emotionally attached to
(18:57):
a fantasy price.
Now if you agree with theirtest, the market price, then by
all means.
But I would say I wouldn'tnecessarily jump both feet into
I want to test the marketlisting unless you had in
writing a listing plan or aprice improvement plan written
(19:17):
in the listing agreement.
That basically says we'll testthe market with your price for X
amount of time and then after X, it's dropped to.
This Number two red flag is weare not in a rush and this
typically means that they mighthave an unrealistic timeline.
They may have low urgency, theymay not need to sell, so that
(19:38):
means that they might have highresistance.
So you might actually get areally solid offer and they're
still going to hold out forsomething that's even better.
And we recently had this in theDC market where a seller
literally got a full price offerand they initially said they
were going to pay some buyeragent compensation and then they
(19:58):
backed out on paying thatcompensation because they
realized they were like, oh,we're not in a rush, it's fine,
it's fine.
And the last red flag I want tocover is if we can't get X
price, we're just going to rentit out.
And this could be motivationmisalignment, but it could
really also be that renting istheir plan B.
(20:19):
So I always think in a shiftingmarket, you need to be having
plan A, plan B and maybe evenplan C if the property doesn't
sell.
My biggest advice is do not takeoverpriced listings out of
desperation.
They ultimately are just adrain on your time, your energy
and your credibility.
(20:39):
And sometimes you know we'resigning the listing agreement
potentially three months beforesomething goes live.
So I definitely recommendsetting a price review before
you actually go live.
I always do that about a weekbefore we list.
We're gonna revisit price,revisit comparables, and I just
think that that's a reallyimportant piece, especially if
(21:00):
you are doing listing agreementsfar in advance.
So let's close out this episode.
You are not just listing houses,you are running a business and
in today's market, overpricedlistings are a liability.
You deserve to have listingsthat sell, because it is just
(21:21):
exhausting to have a listingthat sits forever.
It sucks for everybody involved.
But when you lead with data Ithink data is a big one empathy
and have a real strategy, youare going to build trust with
your client and trust,ultimately, is what is going to
help you sell that home, becausethat seller is going to trust
(21:42):
you to lead them through thistransaction.
So show up confident, show upclear.
Remind your sellers that thegoal isn't just for you to win
the listing appointment, but itis ultimately for you to help
them sell their home.
I hope that this was helpfuland maybe a little bit of
motivation in the shiftingmarket to help you deal with
(22:04):
sellers.
If you know an agent that wouldlove to listen to this or it
would be helpful, please shareand do not forget to subscribe
on your favorite app whereveryou're listening, and until next
time, stay happy.
Hello there.
So we are in peak summer market, whatever that means for where
you are at.
Today, I wanted to dive in tohow to talk to sellers in a
shifting market.
I feel like the market isshifting in the majority of the
country and I wanted to get intohow can you help sellers
(00:21):
through pricing decisions withreal strategy, compassion, even,
and knowing your market, reallybeing the leader when you show
up to a listing appointment,especially in a market where
sellers are watching Zillow orRedfin or whatever their
favorite app is of choice, andnot necessarily the statistics.
(00:43):
So here's the thing If yourseller still thinks they're
going to get 50,000 over askingthe first weekend on the market
because their neighbor did in2021, it's honestly not their
fault.
They are just misinformed andthat is our job to fix.
So this episode is your sellerconversation crash course and
(01:07):
I'm hoping by the end of it youwill walk away with the tools
you need to have a real talkwith your clients without
killing the vibes, and theconfidence to push back without
being pushy.
Also, language that helps youget listings priced to sell and
not sit helps you get listingspriced to sell and not sit.
(01:30):
I think we have to talk a littlebit about why are sellers
struggling right now withreality?
And I really think a lot of itcomes down to the fact that we
are in a media headline market.
People are scrolling onwhatever social media platform
of their choice and one day itis market crash, the next day it
is inventory crisis and thenews is not helpful in most
(01:54):
cases.
I also think they have bugs intheir ear, friends, family,
giving outdated advice, sothey're saying ask for more.
It's still a seller's market.
And then there's what we liketo call psychological anchoring,
where they heard that theirneighbor got $800,000.
(02:14):
And now that they expect thesame because, even though that
comp might not be relevant, theyare really fixated on.
Oh my gosh, that house sold for800K.
I need to make that happen formyself.
And it's important to adopt agood mindset when you're dealing
with clients who are reallystruggling with reality.
(02:34):
You are not here to burst theirbubble.
You are here to guide them tothe best possible result and
conclusion and, in my opinion,that requires honesty.
Not a sales pitch, not hype,just good old fashioned honesty.
Tell it like it is, withkindness, and I really think
(02:56):
most sellers want that.
They hired you for the truth.
They don't want you to just bea yes woman with a locked box.
They want you to tell them whatthe real deal is.
I also want to dive into alittle bit about buyer
psychology.
So I'm going to give you alittle buyer psychology 101.
And this might be helpful tobring up to a seller.
(03:21):
So this is why your seller needsto understand the other side of
the transaction.
So let's flip the script.
If your seller is hyper-focusedon what they want to make,
they're honestly missing half ofthe story.
Today's buyers are cautious,they are stretched and they are
skeptical.
(03:41):
And if we don't understandwhere they're coming from, we
don't win their attention, letalone them even making an offer.
And it really is all aboutattention.
So what are buyers thinkingright now?
They're really worried.
Honestly.
They're like what's my monthlypayment with these rates, these
(04:02):
7% interest rates?
Am I overpaying for this house?
That's one of the biggest fears.
Also, what else can I get forthis price?
So they were comparisonchopping.
They want to make sure thatthey're really understanding
what their dollar gets them.
And then they also, in the backof their head, are wondering
why hasn't this one sold already?
(04:23):
Why hasn't this one sold thefirst weekend on the market.
What's wrong with it?
So here's some ways that you canapproach this with your seller.
Buyers today aren't just askinghow much it is.
They're asking is this a smartdecision right now?
And if we're overpriced, wedon't even get to answer that
(04:44):
question.
We will just get skipped over.
And if we're overpriced, wedon't even get to answer that
question.
We will just get skipped over.
And that really is.
What's happening is we'restarting to see buyers just
totally skip over listings whenthe seller and the listing agent
were like well, if someone'sinterested, wouldn't they just
make an offer?
But we're seeing people justnot even tour it because of the
pricing.
So getting that marketing priceright is so crucial.
(05:08):
Here's an analogy that you canuse if it's helpful.
Imagine shopping for a car.
So we have two SUVs.
They're the same year, samefeatures.
One is $10,000 more.
Are you calling the dealershipof the one that's $10,000 more
or are you scrolling right pastand going to the one that's
(05:29):
$10,000 less?
I mean, you know my answer I'mgoing to the one that's $10,000
less and negotiating that too.
But that's how buyers aretreating overpriced homes right
now.
They're not asking questions.
They literally are just movingon.
So I think we need to reframethis to our sellers and really
we need to let them know that wewant the buyer and we want to
(05:52):
attract the buyer who's going tolove your home, but they have
to see value in it and not justa listing price.
So it is really crucial thatbuyers are seeing the value and,
honestly, that comes down tonailing price.
So it is really crucial thatbuyers are seeing the value and,
honestly, that comes down tonailing price.
We're also dealing, I think,with some semblance of seller
(06:15):
grief.
Now, if you know the fivephases of grief, we're going to
dive into them in the context ofa home seller.
But pricing resistance isemotional, it is not logical and
sometimes the pushback on pricethat you're getting it's not
about you or even the house,it's just about their grief,
them coming to grips with thefact that they're not getting
(06:37):
the price that they want.
So if you can recognize wherethey are in the process, you can
lead them through it withempathy.
And I know real estate agents,I think, would make the best
therapist, because we're so goodat leading people through
emotional situations.
But let's go through the fivephases of seller grief.
So the first phase is denial.
(06:57):
So what sellers are saying inthat stage is like no way, it's
only worth that.
No way, I can't believe it.
And what that really means isthat they're clinging to the old
market.
They are not accepting where weare, the current reality.
The next phase after denial isusually anger.
(07:18):
So they might say somethinglike well, my neighbor got 850
last year.
That's absolutely insane,that's ridiculous.
And the feeling behind that isthat they feel like they got
cheated.
They really may be angry atthemselves for have waited so
long or not timing the marketcorrectly, so that can be a
(07:38):
really strong feeling where theylike missed the boat and that
sucks.
The next phase is bargaining.
So you might hear them saysomething like let's list high
and just see what happens.
And they're basically just likecan we outsmart the market?
Can we try to make this happen?
Like I know I missed out, butlike maybe we can work something
(08:00):
out, maybe we can negotiate andbargain.
And the next phase is sadness.
So maybe they're just reallysad about what the current
reality is and they might saysomething to you like I can't
believe we have to go that low.
Oh, that's so depressing.
I can't believe that I couldhave sold for $75,000 more last
(08:22):
year, and really what they'regrieving is that financial or
emotional loss like that $75,000could have done something
really amazing for their life,and so it might just seem like
75K to us, but there might be areally deep sadness or sense of
loss because that was money thatthey potentially thought that
they could count on.
(08:42):
And then the last phase ofgrief is acceptance, which is
all right.
I'm coming to grips with what'sgoing on.
So what price will thisactually sell at?
And once people get to thatphase of acceptance, that's when
they're really ready to moveforward and get their home sold.
So again, those phases aredenial, anger, bargaining,
(09:03):
sadness and acceptance.
And that's just the five stagesof grief.
No matter what kind of griefyou're going through but you may
not realize that sellers aredefinitely going through this.
In a market shift, I alwaysfind that empathy wins the day,
so being able to say somethinglike what you're feeling is
completely normal.
(09:23):
The market's changed reallyfast and I know it's hard to
hear a number that feels lowerthan you expected, but I am here
to make sure that you actuallyget the number that we land on
and not just list it and hopethat something comes through.
I also think you can use someempowering language like it's
not about what your neighbor got, it's about what buyers are
(09:43):
willing to pay today in thismarket.
Or we're not settling, we'rebeing strategic so you don't
lose time or money.
And lastly, you can saysomething like I'm not here to
pressure you, but I am here toprotect your outcome and get
your home sold for the highestamount of money in the quickest
amount of time, or whatever goalis important to that seller.
(10:07):
Okay, so buyer psychology,seller grief aside, let's get
into how you can present pricinglike a pro.
Here are my pre-listing prepmusts.
You have to come armed withmarket data.
I am a data nerd, so findwherever you can get that data
(10:27):
from.
Rpr is free for all realtors.
Check that out.
I know in our DC market we haveGetSmartChartscom.
The MLSs often have a lot ofgood data, so figure out your
source and then start pullingfrom it.
Do not just do an MLS dump oflistings.
I think that that is nothelpful.
So the things I like to pull arethe days on market trends for a
(10:50):
specific neighborhood.
So on average, or the median,how long are things taking to
close or go under contract.
That is a really importantthing to know because if it's 21
days and you reach day 21 andyou have had no interest, that
means you are not beating themarket, so something is off.
The other thing I like is theoriginal list price to sale
(11:12):
price ratio from the past 90days.
So are we getting 100% of ourlist price?
Are people getting 97% of listprice?
So that can give your seller anidea and you an idea, of how
much negotiation is going on.
The other thing I love to use ismonths of inventory.
So traditionally people havesaid five to six months is a
(11:36):
balanced market.
I really think anywhere we'reseeing three months, four months
of inventory.
You're going to like homes areselling but they're taking a
little bit longer.
So just knowing, are youtrending up on that?
Is it trending down?
Is it staying stable?
This can help you setexpectations with your clients
because you can say inventory isdecreasing or demand is
(12:00):
decreasing.
So what we're seeing is thatit's going to take five months
for everything on the market tosell at current demand levels.
So having those statistics canbe really important to
presenting a realistic marketpicture to your seller, and I
think stats can speak forthemselves and you don't have to
defend them.
(12:20):
Stats are the stats.
So get good at using statisticsand I'm sure your broker can
help you.
Someone is able to explain howto use this to your advantage in
listing and pricingpresentations.
The other thing I like to useis the pricing pyramid graphic,
and that shows how the buyerpool shrinks as prices rise.
So it's essentially showingthat if you list from zero to
(12:45):
negative 10% of a price, you'reprobably going to get X number
of buyers in the market.
So you can Google that.
Google the pricing pyramidgraphic and you can find that.
But I like presenting thatbecause it's a good visual on if
you overprice, you're reallymissing out on the majority of
the market.
And lastly, everyone loves agood client story.
So if you have examples of pastclients that have made smart
(13:11):
pricing decisions versusstubborn pricing decisions, I
think that real life stories canbe really helpful.
So any experience you have thatis applicable to that listing
or that client definitely shareit.
People like to hear real worldstrategies on what's worked and
what hasn't, so here's somephrases that I like to use when
(13:33):
it comes to pricing Buyers donot care what you want as a
seller, no offense, but theycare what it is worth to them
and what else they can get forthat price.
So we have to be the bestoption on the market.
Also, when it comes to days onmarket this is another one is
that every day on market makesbuyers ask one question what's
(13:54):
wrong with this property?
And then, lastly, the otherphrase I really like, which is
overpricing doesn't test themarket.
It actually makes the marketignore us.
And those first two weeks onthe market are crucial to
building interest and urgency.
So those are my tips forpresenting pricing, presenting
(14:16):
market stats.
Now let's say you presenteverything and you have some
seller objections when it comesto pricing pushback.
This happens frequently.
So I'm going to run you throughfive objections and how I
handle them.
So the first one is let's listhigh and see what happens.
(14:37):
So my response is typically Icompletely understand that
instinct.
You want to get as much moneyas possible.
But today's buyers, they haveoptions in the market.
So if we miss that criticallaunch window, we're going to
lose leverage.
And if we have to drop theprice later, they're going to
wonder what's wrong, and thenwe're approaching the market
(14:58):
from a position of weakness.
So I suggest practicing themost common seller objections
and your response to them.
You should not use what I sayword for word.
It should be something thatrolls off your tongue and that
you know very easily and I'm nota huge believer in memorizing
scripts, but I do think that youneed to be able to have talking
(15:20):
points when it comes toobjections.
The next one is Zillow says it'sworth more or Redfin says it's
worth more.
So I like to say Zillow is agreat starting point and
everyone looks at it.
It's very normal.
Almost every listingpresentation I go into Zillow is
going to come up.
But here's the thing aboutZillow it is a computer, it's
(15:40):
not a buyer.
So let's look at the realcomparable sales on what real
humans actually paid forproperties that are similar to
yours.
So pivoting telling them.
You know it's normal, likeeveryone looks at Zillow, but
let's look at actual comparablesbecause that's going to be the
information that's most helpfulto us.
The next one is that we don'thave to sell.
(16:01):
We're not in a rush andhonestly that's a kind of tough
one because sometimes you mightwant to run from that, but you
can say that's great, nopressure.
But when you're in a must-sellposition, that's actually when
you have the most power to pricestrategically and attract the
right buyer on your terms.
Number four is we put a lot ofmoney into upgrades and we need
(16:25):
to get all of that back.
We get that one actually prettyof like very frequently when
people have done renovations andyou can say, I totally hear you
, some upgrades absolutely addvalue and others are just more
personal and they're more yourpersonal taste.
So let's break down the onesthat today's buyers are willing
to pay extra for and how we canhighlight those to maximize your
(16:48):
return.
I think it's important to notphrase it like you're never
going to get your money back onthose, but let's frame it in the
positive, which is some ofthese upgrades that you made
absolutely add value.
So let's highlight those tomaximize your return.
And then, lastly this is a toughone because we are running into
this now, which is I can'taccept having to list this for
(17:08):
less than I paid a year ago andthat is so hard.
I remember in 2008, 2009, 2010,.
Oh God, this was like all thetime.
So I think the first thing isyou just have to empathize,
which is I hear you.
I know it's really frustrating,especially after such a big
investment and the marketdoesn't always move the way that
(17:28):
we want to in the short term.
But we can control how quicklyand how smoothly your property
will sell and also how weposition it to minimize your
loss and move you forward.
So I think that's a really hardone, but it is important to
just empathize and let them knowthat you're gonna do the best
you can to get them as much aspossible.
(17:50):
On the price side, I also lovecreating visual comparisons so
you may have some examples ofactual homes in your market.
So I'd choose two.
We could have an overpricedhome or a well-priced home and
then tell the story of each ofthose.
So it could be that theoverpriced home had two price
drops and ended up selling in 80days for 95% of asking.
(18:11):
And then we have thewell-priced home, which had
three offers sold in seven daysand it sold for asking price.
So you can use this in yourlisting presentation or your
pricing conversations, but Ialways find real-life examples
are really helpful.
Now I would be remiss if wedidn't talk a little bit about
red flags to watch for when youare chatting with a seller, and
(18:35):
there are three that I want youto be aware of.
Now some of these may not beyou have to run immediately, but
it's just things to be carefulof and they are things that I
have learned over my many yearsof listing property that you
need to get curious and dig in alittle bit deeper.
So the first is we want to testthe market.
Now that typically means thatthey are emotionally attached to
(18:57):
a fantasy price.
Now if you agree with theirtest, the market price, then by
all means.
But I would say I wouldn'tnecessarily jump both feet into
I want to test the marketlisting unless you had in
writing a listing plan or aprice improvement plan written
(19:17):
in the listing agreement.
That basically says we'll testthe market with your price for X
amount of time and then after X, it's dropped to.
This Number two red flag is weare not in a rush and this
typically means that they mighthave an unrealistic timeline.
They may have low urgency, theymay not need to sell, so that
(19:38):
means that they might have highresistance.
So you might actually get areally solid offer and they're
still going to hold out forsomething that's even better.
And we recently had this in theDC market where a seller
literally got a full price offerand they initially said they
were going to pay some buyeragent compensation and then they
(19:58):
backed out on paying thatcompensation because they
realized they were like, oh,we're not in a rush, it's fine,
it's fine.
And the last red flag I want tocover is if we can't get X
price, we're just going to rentit out.
And this could be motivationmisalignment, but it could
really also be that renting istheir plan B.
(20:19):
So I always think in a shiftingmarket, you need to be having
plan A, plan B and maybe evenplan C if the property doesn't
sell.
My biggest advice is do not takeoverpriced listings out of
desperation.
They ultimately are just adrain on your time, your energy
and your credibility.
(20:39):
And sometimes you know we'resigning the listing agreement
potentially three months beforesomething goes live.
So I definitely recommendsetting a price review before
you actually go live.
I always do that about a weekbefore we list.
We're gonna revisit price,revisit comparables, and I just
think that that's a reallyimportant piece, especially if
(21:00):
you are doing listing agreementsfar in advance.
So let's close out this episode.
You are not just listing houses,you are running a business and
in today's market, overpricedlistings are a liability.
You deserve to have listingsthat sell, because it is just
(21:21):
exhausting to have a listingthat sits forever.
It sucks for everybody involved.
But when you lead with data Ithink data is a big one empathy
and have a real strategy, youare going to build trust with
your client and trust,ultimately, is what is going to
help you sell that home, becausethat seller is going to trust
(21:42):
you to lead them through thistransaction.
So show up confident, show upclear.
Remind your sellers that thegoal isn't just for you to win
the listing appointment, but itis ultimately for you to help
them sell their home.
I hope that this was helpfuland maybe a little bit of
motivation in the shiftingmarket to help you deal with
(22:04):
sellers.
If you know an agent that wouldlove to listen to this or it
would be helpful, please shareand do not forget to subscribe
on your favorite app whereveryou're listening, and until next
time, stay happy.
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