Price Reductions: Don’t Take Them Personally…Agents!

That’s right! I am referring to agents who get personally attached to properties that they are representing for sale. Some readers may remember my post way back in May 2006 regarding my love affair with an Upper West Side penthouse.  In that situation, I was selling a property in the same building in which I lived and I wanted the apartment so much for myself that I became blind to the fact that it was overpriced.

The impetus for this post is not quite the same.  The personal price reductions to which I’m referring are those required for properties in which an agent is representing a good friend or even family.  I have an agent who is currently representing her parent’s co-op for sale. She has had incredible traffic and many have visited the space 2 and even 3 times with no offers.  The property is gorgeous and shows beautifully so what is the hurdle?  Likely the price.  After all price overcomes all obstacles!  But a greater obstacle in this instance than the price itself is the agent’s (remember she is also seller’s daughter) unwillingness to reduce the price.  Her own father suggested a price reduction to which she responded “I can get you more daddy!”  The sale of this apartment is her parent’s retirement nut and she is so personally engrossed in getting them every possible cent with their best interest at hand that she isn’t necessarily working in their best interest.

Now at the urging of another agent in the office, she has tried to step back for a moment and think of how she would be handling this property if the relationship were purely business.  And the answer:  After all of the traffic through the home and the lack of offers, the price seems to require an adjustment. So be it. And for the record: this is a no-nonsense, very professional agent who’s customers rave about her repeatedly.

The moral to the story…as agents we MUST maintain objectivity and treat each property with the same methodical market analysis to determine where visiting buyer’s are buying and at what price.  And remember that if you are trying to sell a property for a friend, family member or just a new customer with whom you have developed a strong personal relationship, you’re not doing anyone a favor by keeping their home listed for a price that isn’t soliciting bids.