Help Your Clients Understand They're Not in Kansas

9/15: Tweet from @blockrealestate (Brian Block, Managing Broker, RE/MAX Allegiance): 

"had client thought they could take 10% off listing price because that was their market in midWest. 'scuse me. Not in NoVa!"

One of the reasons we dig Twitter is the insight it provides into the interactions between top producing agents/brokers and their clients. The tweet above is a good example. Thanks to a strong jobs market, thousands of homebuyers flock to NoVa each year from a variety of different real estate markets. This can inevitably lead to some naivete in their expectations of the local market that can potentially require some kid gloves in order to not damage egos. One thing the tweet didn't provide visibility into (not that it could in 140 characters or less) is how Brian handled the initial offer ideas of his relocating client. I can guess, though. Brian is one of RBI's earliest adopters, so he likely had a chart like this shown on his iPad in a matter of seconds:

Even in the "dark days" of early 2008, the Northern Virginia market didn't see seller's agreeing to 10% off their original list price very often. Let's assume, hypothetically, the client still doesn't want to inch back toward a realistic offer. "But this is a distressed unit, that has to be worth knocking something substantial off of the offer".  Well, no...

As you can see from the chart above, REO and short sales are less likely to be overpriced in Fairfax than standard sales, thus buyer's can expect even less in list price concessions.

"Okay, well, this property has been on the market for 2 months, they're bound to be getting antsy and ready to drop the price by a tenth?" Probably not, unless you want to wait another 4 months or so to make your low-ball offer, see the 31-60 day buckets below...

Now the client sees the whole picture and you've likely saved yourself the time and effort of having to pass along an unreasonable offer, without having to dive into additional anecdotes or awkward additional conversation. On top of that, you've established your credibility with the client as a real estate professional that truly understands the local market. Brian's reputation as a well-respected professional no doubt preceded his work with this client, and I understand from a follow-up tweet that his client had a 10%-off expectation about a home on the market less than 30 days (maybe in Kansas!). But if established agents/brokers like Brian are leveraging RBI as an aid in pricing/offer conversations, maybe it's time for you to consider the ROI you'd get from closing a single client with the help of a $20-$30 tool!