I was at my new listing with “the crew” getting it ready to show this weekend in 85 degree heat yesterday when one of the workers asked me what was the list price and what was the real price it will sell for.  Fortunately or unfortunately, in San Francisco, realtors put low prices on listings in anticipation of it getting multiple offers going over the asking price.

But what happens when it doesn’t go over?  What happens when you have a listing that sits there and doesn’t move.

The key here is to be super honest with your sellers about pricing.  You have to bite the bullet and really tell a seller what their home is worth.

Too many listing agents lie to sellers just to get a listing.  And then you have to face reality when  it sits there forever or it doesn’t get the price you told them it would get.

Listen people, we are not in the business of listing homes.  We are in the business of SELLING homes!  Get it?

Having 20 homes in your listing inventory is useless if they are all overpriced for whatever reason.

One trick I use is to sign the listing agreement and at the same time tell the sellers that we will address the price again before we put it on the market AND again 3 weeks after it hits the MLS if it hasn’t sold.

That way you’ve opened the discussion about pricing and it easier to always be bringing it up.

You will save yourself a lot of headaches in the future doing this.

So be honest with sellers. 

Tell the truth. 

They will respect you for it.