It’s a moment most realtors dread, though not unanticipated. You need to tell your seller a price adjustment is in order. After a couple of months on the market with no offers, and enough showings to see patterns emerging from the feedback, the writing is on the wall (not literally, you would have asked the sellers to paint over it before the first showing):
It’s time to lower the price.
It’s an uncomfortable conversation to have, with no way to predict how the sellers may react. The good news: you can go into this conversation armed with showing feedback from agents and their buyers. This way, it’s the market telling them the price is too high, not just you.
Here are 3 tips to keep in mind – from your fellow real estate professionals – when you sit your sellers down to have “the talk.”
1. Remind Them They’re Selling a House, Not Their Home
When in the market for a house, buyers are looking for a listing to turn into a home, but the search for the buyer is significantly less emotional than for the seller. The seller has memories, possibly decades worth, where their children were born and raised. Unfortunately, memories don’t factor into how much a house is worth. It pays to be direct and unemotional with sellers about the valuation, though not cold.
2. Don’t Say “I Told You So”
You and the sellers agreed on the original price when it was listed, though you may have thought it was too high. Don’t remind them. You can be very matter of fact … buyers like the house, but no offers. Why? It could be for a number of reasons (you can discuss the showing feedback more fully), including price. Getting the house into the next lower bracket might generate more showings; going from $355,000 to $349,900, for example, introduces the listing to buyers who won’t look higher than $350,000.
3. Give it a (Truthful) Positive Spin
Soften the conversation by reminding your sellers what they’ll be getting. Whether that’s an increase in showings, a high return from the price they bought it for, or the peace of mind of a quicker sale so they can move on, there are advantages to lowering the price.
Three quick, easy steps to keep in mind next time you say, “Sit down, we need to talk.”
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