… It’s going to be a long cold winter. I’ll be back in the spring.

That’s what I’m reading too, 60646renter. But here’s the thing: Consider that – even though somewhat of a remote thought – home prices in 60646 may rise next spring.

I also read your post. I wish more buyers and realtors would to your theory because it makes total sense. Price right, and it will sell. Why can’t the sellers in 60646 figure this out?

It’s going to be a long cold winter. I’ll be back in the spring.

Thanks for stopping by to discuss, 60646 renter.

In career choice there are all these older guys who confuse ‘being busy’ with ‘making money’. Sure, they’re busy all the time and have a lot going on, but at the end of the day, ‘being busy’ is not selling properties. Sure, you have lots of listings, and there are showings, and new clients, but unless there are sales, it’s a waste of time…but these old timers, they don’t see that. I’m not saying you’re an old timer, but there are plenty of star realtors out there who sell, and sell well, even in this down market, and they tell sellers right off the bat “I will sell your house but you need to follow my plan and price realistically” and homes sell. Letting sellers decide how they’re going to do it is like giving doctors giving patients tell them how to practice medicine. Don’t let sellers tell you how to sell homes because guess what – they won’t sell. 9 sales in Q2 shows that.
Thanks for these informal chats. Hopefully some 60646 sellers see this little chat and get a better sense of what’s really going on out there and why potential buyers won’t buy their homes.

Your job as a realtor is to encourage #4, you know, if you want to sell more than 9 properties in edgebrook a quarter.

When we represent sellers, one of our jobs is to negotiate the highest possible price (that the market bears) for our clients. When we represent buyers, one of our jobs is to negotiate the lowest possible price for our clients.

I don’t disagree with you that buyers essentially determine what the market value of a particular piece of property is. And I also agree with you that sellers ought to know about what is going on in their marketplace. But that’s basically as far as we go. From there, it’s up to the sellers to decide. Your fourth option is not really an option. It’s a statement like “The sun comes up in the East every morning”. Just because cheaper homes sell, doesn’t mean that expensive homes have to sell for cheap! However, do expensive homes occasionally sell for cheap? You bet they do! But for that, you have to get up before the sun rises in the East!

Sellers have four choices: 1) take the house off the market; 2) hold firm forever; 3) hold firm until it becomes a distressed property; or 4) recognize the new market reality that cheaper homes sell. Your job as a realtor is to encourage #4, you know, if you want to sell more than 9 properties in edgebrook a quarter. You and I both know that the market is not ‘coming back’ and the longer a seller waits the less they’ll eventually sell for. This is a declining market and who knows where the bottom even is at this point.