Realtor Advice - Okotoks

[Jonrox]

Hi all,

I've had my home for sale in Okotoks for about 2.5 months and I'm unsure if I'm going to renew my agreement with my current realtor. We've had about 8-10 showings, 2 open houses, and no offers - I'm questioning whether the agent has been aggressive enough trying to market and sell my home.

Just wondering if anyone here can recommend a good realtor in Okotoks (or someone they know in the Calgary area that also sells in and knows the Okotoks market)? I'm just looking to talk to a few people and determine if switching is something I want to do.

I won't talk specifics about my house or realtor as I want to protect the agent's rights and don't want to damage the chances of the house selling soon.

[burn_baby_burn]

8-10 showings in 2.5 months is horrible. Your price must be too high.

[troutman]

It could just be the current market too.

I know a nice house in the city with a mountain view - no offers in 2 months, lots of showings.

[Madman]

As much as I despise the guy - Ray Blanchette from Sutton has good results in Okotoks.

We had him come in to appraise our house a few years ago and he really rubbed me the wrong way and I didn't think his assessment of our house was at all right.....boy was I wrong. We went another direction and simply asked too much, then the bottom fell out of the market and we were stuck with two houses for waaaaay too long.

He might be a dink, but he sells houses.

http://www.sutton.com/realtor/rblanchette

[Jonrox]

Originally Posted by burn_baby_burn

8-10 showings in 2.5 months is horrible. Your price must be too high.

Could be... I went with the price I did because I interviewed 4 realtors before choosing one and they all came back with appraisals within $10,000 of one another. I'm priced comparable to other houses in my neighborhood... maybe we're all priced too high!

[burn_baby_burn]

Originally Posted by troutman

It could just be the current market too.

I know a nice house in the city with a mountain view - no offers in 2 months, lots of showings.

Winter is the worst time to sell a house. Less people are looking. Prices usually reflect that. Depends how the house shows as well. It may look good on MLS, but if the place is a pig sty or has a weird lay out it will turn buyers off.

I sold a house in August. We had lots of viewings but no offers. My Realtor wanted to drop the price. I was against it thinking we were getting lots of viewings so the price should be fine. Dropped the price $5,000 and had an offer in a couple days.

[burn_baby_burn]

Originally Posted by Jonrox

Could be... I went with the price I did because I interviewed 4 realtors before choosing one and they all came back with appraisals within $10,000 of one another. I'm priced comparable to other houses in my neighborhood... maybe we're all priced too high!

A better comparison is the price similiar houses in your area are selling for. Your realtor will have access to this information. Buyers dictate the market.

[Rerun]

Whats your mls listing number? Lets have a look at your house.

By the way, I bought a house in Okotoks last June and it had been on the market since February.

[Sliver]

Honestly, though, what can a realtor really do to push a house to sell? Beyond making sure it doesn't look like a 5 year old wrote your MLS ad (isn't it nuts how many realtors have no grasp whatsoever of English?), the house is really going to sell on its own merits or it won't from what I can tell. It's not like your realtor can talk your house up at cocktail parties and stuff if it's just an average-joe house. If it's staged well and priced right, it'll go. Also if your house is priced similar to all your neighbours you may just want to go $10-15K less to clinch the deal. Somebody is going to flinch first and drop their price, making the rest of you look too expensive. You may as well be the first guy as the rest will probably have to follow suit anyway.

[burn_baby_burn]

Originally Posted by Sliver

Honestly, though, what can a realtor really do to push a house to sell? Beyond making sure it doesn't look like a 5 year old wrote your MLS ad (isn't it nuts how many realtors have no grasp whatsoever of English?), the house is really going to sell on its own merits or it won't from what I can tell. It's not like your realtor can talk your house up at cocktail parties and stuff if it's just an average-joe house. If it's staged well and priced right, it'll go. Also if your house is priced similar to all your neighbours you may just want to go $10-15K less to clinch the deal. Somebody is going to flinch first and drop their price, making the rest of you look too expensive. You may as well be the first guy as the rest will probably have to follow suit anyway.

Correct, very rarely does the listing dealer show the house anyways. A good realtor will dig to find out from the realtors showing your house what people liked and disliked in the viewings. Other than providing good feed back from other realtors and giving good advice on selling price what can a realtor really do to get an offer on your house? Once an offer comes in is when your realtor is going to earn their commission.

[Shazam]

Originally Posted by burn_baby_burn

Winter is the worst time to sell a house. Less people are looking. Prices usually reflect that. Depends how the house shows as well. It may look good on MLS, but if the place is a pig sty or has a weird lay out it will turn buyers off.

I sold a house in August. We had lots of viewings but no offers. My Realtor wanted to drop the price. I was against it thinking we were getting lots of viewings so the price should be fine. Dropped the price $5,000 and had an offer in a couple days.

Weird, eh? You'd expect people to just put in an offer that's 5K less, but as my realtor said, the price you put is the price you expect to get.

[Winsor_Pilates]

Originally Posted by Shazam

Weird, eh? You'd expect people to just put in an offer that's 5K less, but as my realtor said, the price you put is the price you expect to get.

If the buyer really loves your house in particular, they will likely make the 5K less offer. But if your house is 1 of many comparable houses and buyers think they're all a touch overpriced, the 5K drop can make a big difference in setting you apart from the pack.

To the OP: have other comparable houses in your area been selling? If yes, has your realtor shown you sales and listing prices for them?

[onetwo_threefour]

I work with Rob McIntyre and Nadine Beacage a fair bit and know that they do a good deal of business out in Okotoks. Based on my clients impressions they do good work.

[Jonrox]

Originally Posted by Winsor_Pilates

If the buyer really loves your house in particular, they will likely make the 5K less offer. But if your house is 1 of many comparable houses and buyers think they're all a touch overpriced, the 5K drop can make a big difference in setting you apart from the pack.

To the OP: have other comparable houses in your area been selling? If yes, has your realtor shown you sales and listing prices for them?

This is where I'm inclined to think it's just quiet in my area... at 2.5 months my house has been on MLS for just about the shortest amount of time for comparables. My realtor provided me the list of what has sold over the past 2 months and there's not much in my price range that has moved (it seems there's been decent movement for homes in the high $300,000's/low $400,000's, but that's not where my home falls). That's why I haven't felt the need to lower my price again (I lowered by $10,000 already and saw no change in the number of showings)... I'm not yet convinced it's a pricing problem.

It just seems there's not a lot of movement right now. Maybe it's because I'm in sales that the appearance of lack of action by the agent frustrates me.

There's another house with almost the exact same floor plan as mine for sale just a few houses down - now listed $20,000 below mine, but smaller floorplan and not nearly as many upgrades. I'd like to think that if somebody went to view that home, they'd take a look at mine too.

I'm inclined to wait until January/February before I expect a lot. But I do want the right agent selling my home too. I'm not in a huge rush to sell, I've closed on a new lot in BC and just waiting for this house to sell before I start building the new one.

[Jonrox]

I've only sold a house one other time (when the market was really hot), so I have a question for those more experienced.

I would actually be willing to accept an offer 5% lower than my asking. What would you say is the best strategy... lower the price now to closer to this price or leave it where it is to give myself wiggle room when it comes to negotiating? In my line of business, it typically works better to have the wiggle room most of the time, but real estate strategy is a bit foreign to me.

[Winsor_Pilates]

Originally Posted by fotze

But aren;t you in Vancouver, that place seems like an anomoly though, Could be the great depresion and things will sell 50k over asking in Vancouver.

Vancouver is definitely a different market, but nothing I wrote there was intended to be about Vancouver. What part seemed that way?

Originally Posted by Jonrox

This is where I'm inclined to think it's just quiet in my area... at 2.5 months my house has been on MLS for just about the shortest amount of time for comparables. My realtor provided me the list of what has sold over the past 2 months and there's not much in my price range that has moved (it seems there's been decent movement for homes in the high $300,000's/low $400,000's, but that's not where my home falls). That's why I haven't felt the need to lower my price again (I lowered by $10,000 already and saw no change in the number of showings)... I'm not yet convinced it's a pricing problem.

It just seems there's not a lot of movement right now. Maybe it's because I'm in sales that the appearance of lack of action by the agent frustrates me.

There's another house with almost the exact same floor plan as mine for sale just a few houses down - now listed $20,000 below mine, but smaller floorplan and not nearly as many upgrades. I'd like to think that if somebody went to view that home, they'd take a look at mine too.

I'm inclined to wait until January/February before I expect a lot. But I do want the right agent selling my home too. I'm not in a huge rush to sell, I've closed on a new lot in BC and just waiting for this house to sell before I start building the new one.

I agree with all of this based on the info you've given. Regardless of whether you stick with this agent, it doesn't seem like you need to panic and drop the price at a bad time of the year for selling in general. If you have time, I'd recommend waiting 1-2 months before price drops.

I've only sold a house one other time (when the market was really hot), so I have a question for those more experienced.

I would actually be willing to accept an offer 5% lower than my asking. What would you say is the best strategy... lower the price now to closer to this price or leave it where it is to give myself wiggle room when it comes to negotiating? In my line of business, it typically works better to have the wiggle room most of the time, but real estate strategy is a bit foreign to me.

I say keep the wiggle room. People expect to pay less than list when buying real estate 95% of the time, and definitely in a slow market. Only in a strong sellers market will you often get offers at or above your list.

[ken0042]

Originally Posted by burn_baby_burn

Correct, very rarely does the listing dealer show the house anyways.

I never even met the selling realtor for my house. My own realtor had a program to send me emails based on certain criteria, and when I saw this house I asked my realtor to set up a showing.

[Incinerator]

Originally Posted by Madman

We had him come in to appraise our house a few years ago and he really rubbed me the wrong way and I didn't think his assessment of our house was at all right.....

Sorry, not trying to be a "dink" here and derail your thread, but as someone who is in both the sales and appraisal field, it really irks me when the public or other members of the industry throws around the terms "appraise/appraisal" as an equivalent to comparative market analysis, so I do strongly feel the need to clarify the use of these terms.

CMAs are simply database generated numbers serving as a general reference point for sellers who would like to give their property a competitive listing price. An appraisal is a formal opinion of value prepared as a result of a retainer for which the appraiser assumes responsibility. Only licenced appraisers can perform appraisals in Alberta.

When I am sitting at the kitchen table with the sellers I don't tell them I am appraising your house at such & such price. Doing so would be misleading the public. I will however perform an appraisal if the sellers are ordering an appraisal from my firm and I am not the Realtor they are hiring.

[back to our regular programming]

For the OP's concerns, if you feel your current lister is not doing a good enough job, you can either request to terminate your current listing contract with his/her brokerage, or wait for the expiry and interview for an replacement.

Contrary to popular belief, relatives/friends/CP are not the best sources for referrals, everyone has different homes and different needs. Realtors are not all grown out of the same mold and each one have different expertise to serve different market segments, you need to do your own diligence in selecting your representative in such a major transaction.

Remember, on top of having a good marketing plan, the person you pick to represent you needs to do that well, a lot of people tend to overlook this and thinks having your home's ad plastered everywhere is all it takes to sell a home for top $$ without headaches.

The good folks who chimed in on this thread all offered tidbits of good advice. The points that stick out most is probably Sliver and burn_baby_burn's - Houses sell themselves, Realtors are there to give your property the exposure via the MLS and their own network, and to give you proper representation when the target market is reached and an offer comes in--so you know what to expect and don't get ripped off.

Too many people in the industry don't even grasp this concept ("I will sell your house for top dollar!"), what they do not understand is that no amount of advertising will work--if they do not understand the target market and the property's standing in said market. IMHO, this is why the industry get such a bad rap among the public sometimes, lots of over-promises and under-delivering

[Hevishot]

Our realtor set up the online MLS viewings for us. It took us about 8 months to find something I actually liked. She was no pressure but when it came time to deal she was able to get what I wanted to pay for the property. Overall it was a great experience she could probably get more traffic into your house give her a shout. www.theresajennings.com she works for Sutton Group.

[Rerun]

I still say you should tell us the MLS number. Maybe somebody on CP will be interested or know somebody who might be interested.... plus we can critique your MLS ad.