Are you making the best choice by selecting the 'cheapest' agent?

Over my career I have run across numerous potential clients that have used an erroneous method in determining which agent should assist them in selling their home. They have hired based upon 1 question:
1) What do you charge?

Just this past week was a perfect example of why this method of hiring can cost you tens of thousands of dollars in the end.

A beautiful Venice model with a resort-like pool area was listed by a discount broker a few months ago. Now I am sure that after meeting with this discount broker in June and hearing that their home should be marketed for over $450,000 with the added benefit of paying half the commission that other brokers may charge that these seller were excited and most likely making plans for the expected proceeds for a sale near that price.



Well, there is a sad, but common, ending to this story...the home finally sold last week; for $70,000 less than the original asking price! This much of a price discount is nearly unprecedented in the post-real-estate-collapse years in our community. 

That commission savings hiring criteria probably doesn't seem like such a good choice now.

Some other, simple hiring questions would have most likely saved these sellers a lot of disappointment and financial distress. Questions such as:
1) In the past 12 months, how many of your clients have cancelled their agreements with you?
2) What makes you the best agent to sell a home in Winston Trails? (other than being the cheapest)
3) How long have you/your partner had a real estate license?
4) How long has your company been in business?
And there are many more factors other than "how much do you charge"? that are pivotal in the sale of a home.

It boils down to this: When an agent has no other compelling value to offer, they MUST charge less.

We have been selling in Winston Trails since the construction trailer was up and have sold almost 500 Winston Trails homes. If you feel that it would benefit you to consult with us prior to selling your home, please call us at 561 432 5202 or email us.

Winston Trails Market Report, March 2010

Below, I will break down the Winston Trails real estate activity for on-the-market homes, under-contract homes and recently sold homes:

On The Market

• There are currently 33 homes on the market in Winton Trails.
• Asking prices/sq ft range from a low of $108/sq ft to a high of $182/sq ft
• Days on the market range from 7 all the way to 610, 15 of the homes have been on the market longer than 120 days
• Listed prices range from $160,000 to $525,000, with an average of $303K and a median of $295k
• The lowest priced home NOT in The Greens is a home on Remington Place in Bay Meadow for $199k
• 6 of the homes are being marketed as Short Sales
• There are NO bank-owned homes available in Winston Trails as of the date of this post

Under Contract

• 16 homes are under contract
• 8 of the 16 are Short Sales
• 2 of the 16 are Bank Owned
• 3 of the 16 will most likely walk away from the closing table with little or no money
• The asking prices/sq ft range from $93/sq ft to $158/sq ft
• The number of days it took to get a contract range from 5 days (for the $93/sq ft home) to 515 (for the $158/sq ft home)...pretty clear pattern here!
• Asking prices range from $175k to $325k
• The average days on the market for the non short sales/non bank owned is 51, with the high being 103

SOLD in the last 30 days

1. Cairo in Barton Creek, oversized lakefront lot...$230,000
2. Paris in Shadow Creek, pool...$310,000