I guess that is my problem, that agents will tell their clients to get the listing and then look to discount it later. This is probably the worst trait in Real Estate agents as when they bring a realistic offer on an overpriced listing, it looks like they are trying to screw their sellers.

That is my biggest problem with the Coldwell Banker sale. You are not selling homes for a builder, they own the inventory. You are not selling cars for a dealership, they own the inventory. Selling homes for a family means you are their agent. Acting like you are selling inventory like a builder is disingenuous. With individual home sellers their needs can not be put into a 10 percent off sale, and in my opinion it goes against all that a Realtor should stand for.

She says: “Second, too many real estate agents are not willing to educate their seller client about the character of the market and the naiveté of the pool of buyers.”

Far too many agents are afraid of loosing possible business and as a result many opt to take on listings that are overpriced in hopes of a price reduction later. Very sad in my opinion.

Sellers have benefited by the marketing efforts. Our office has worked night and day working to put this event together. Without a team effort and lots of hard work it couldn’t have happened. Some Sellers, otherwise unwilling to reduce prices were given additional motivation and support. Agents have had a positive event to focus on and every time a price reduces their commissions are reduced as well, so in fact they are participating in the reductions. My agents at a time when they are struggling financially reached deep to support their clients efforts through putting their precious few advertising dollars full force in this effort. Buyers are benefiting not only from the reductions but through our affliates support of this event and offering true savings on loan fees and closing costs. The sale just began yesterday. We are hoping for additional benefits for all as it begins. However this event has already been a true success for all of us.

In times like these those that step out of the box and try new things are often criticized even if they are successful. I contend that those sitting on the sidelines doing nothing but complaining and whining about the situation and judging the actions of others, have very little hope of having their opinions receive much merit.

I for one am very proud of Coldwell Banker Corporate, our local office, our management,staff, agents, sellers, buyers and affliate companies for not only their efforts but their proactive attitudes. I am proud to serve and take pride in our service to our communities. Rather than demeaning anyone I think anyone in this industry should be giving kudos to those trying to make a difference!

I am a commercial REALTOR with our local Coldwell Banker Commercial affiliate (2 different corporations), so I am not involved in this per se, but I am part of the industry.

I understand your point of view, but here is my thinking on the subject. This is a market the likes of which we have never seen before. I think that all Coldwell Banker is trying to do is create buzz in the market place with one goal in mind- get the property sold. When was the last time you saw a house sell at 100% of listed value? Not in this market. Who said that helping a seller determine a price for their home was a science? I believe that it is in many cases more art than science.

I think that also you miss the idea of the time value of money. If you sell a home for 10% less today but you sell it instead of 6-12 months from now, which is better? Especially if you have to drop it 10% 6 months from now. Which was smarter?

We are in a market in which auctions are being used, buyer incentives, anything (legal) that will get the property sold. I believe that this is just another opportunity to think outside the box.

Semper Fi,

Terry L. Hand
Athens, GA

http://www.CommercialRealEstateAthens.com

Thanks for the comment, but would it not be incumbent upon the agent to get the pricing correct the first time, not to hope for a sale and marketing campaign through a corporate entity to achieve this.

Car salesmen are not agents, they are salesmen. So Nationwide sales make sense for operations that rely on salespeople.

Real Estate agents are agents. They have a duty to their cleints (not customers) that far exceed the role of salesperson. To accept a listing that is unrealistically priced is not ethical if the expectation is to talk them down later, even though it happens all the time. (That is one of my pet peeves.) Your job is to be completely honest with your clients and to do all you can to get a sale.

If the need to achieve this is done by corporate offering National Sales Days then the Coldwell model is broken in my opinion.

BLOG: http://www.SantaBarbaraRealEsateVoice.com
Kevin Schmidtchen
Sotheby’s Int’l Realty