Residential Listings

In the Real Estate Broker Industry, theirs a saying that says “List to Last.” This saying should be the corner stone to your Real Estate Professional career. It shows the importance of securing listing agreements plays in the predictability of your income. 

Why? Listings give you control over the deal. Working with a Seller does require more effort and skill. You must be able to properly market the property through all advertising channels, be able to pre-qualify inquiries and schedule showings, answer all pertinent questions relating to the property and negotiating the nuts and bolts of the purchase agreement to ensure the deal closes on schedule.

The Three Pillars to Selling Real Estate

Price, condition and marketing are the three primary pillars to selling a property. These three key areas will determine how much your home is worth, how many offers it receives and how quickly a transaction will close.

The three pillars work in unison to create a sum that is greater than each individual part. For example, you could take the most perfectly constructed home, with the best finishes, layout and location and price it well below market value but if there is not a solid marketing plan, it could sit on the market for months or even years!

The same can be said for the condition. A property could be priced at fair market value and the marketing could be phenomenal but if the condition of the property is poor, buyers won’t bite.

The one exception is the price. We will discuss pricing a property in later chapters, but it’s important to realize that the price is generally considered the most important of the three pillars.

Of course, each property is uniquely priced but the general idea is that a property is either priced under, over or at the current market value for its condition. A home could be in horrible shape but at the right price you will likely find a buyer.

Overpricing a property can have the opposite effect. Even if the property is in pristine condition and you have an extremely aggressive and effective marketing plan, if it’s overpriced buyers won’t submit offers.

When the price is too high you will end up wasting your time showing the property to “lookers.” Buyers that have no interest in actually writing an offer, they just want a tour.

The majority of this course will be discussing these three pillars, best practices and how they relate to each other. Even though each property is unique, once these concepts are understood it empowers property owners to position their transaction for success.

In general, the current marketing conditions have the greatest effect on a properties price. This means that the major pillars that can be directly controlled by an owner are the condition and marketing. As we discuss these areas, an owner may decide to make improvements and upgrades to a property’s condition after determining the potential return on investment in the current market.

It’s a delicate balance of the three pillars that allow a homeowner to get the most money in the shortest amount of time. The careful planning and execution of these pillars is the most important secret to sold.