Maybe it’s your listing, and it’s been on the market way too long – or maybe you’ve just converted an expired listing lead into becoming a client. Either way, the issue is probably the price, which is almost always the reason homes don’t sell in an active market.
What you need is a price reduction – but how to suggest that to the seller without having them panic? After all, it’s their home, and they’ve invested time, energy, and love into maintaining & hopefully improving it over time.
The key is how to gracefully suggest a price reduction. The key word is “gracefully”, since telling them point blank that they’re asking too much usually shuts them down emotionally, and may even get you fired.
How To Gracefully Ask For A Price Reduction:
“Mr. Seller, let me ask you a quick question. If you were to [price/continue] to market this home too far ahead of current market conditions and possibly out of appraisal range, what would the chance be of a buyer like yourself viewing or making an offer on this property?”
“I’m sure you will agree, that properly placing your home to reflect the current market conditions is imperative to getting you the most money with least amount of hassle, wouldn’t you?”
“I have three suggested pricing points based on today’s market. These are ‘Aggressive, Moderate and Testing The Waters.’ At which would you prefer to start?”
If they choose the number, even though they are your numbers, it has to be right. Then they are moving forward. All numbers should be within the correct range.
The above script is the set up for the initial pricing discussion and also works well as a secondary line of conversation. Only use this if they don’t bite right away on “repositioning the home to better reflect the current market conditions.”
The three suggested pricing points are all within reason. The ‘Test the Waters’ label is to further ascertain their level of commitment. You will follow up with this by making sure they understand what NAR states regarding 14 days with no showings or 10 showings with no offers. It is at this point that it will be time to reposition the home to better reflect our current market.
This is what we use. This script is non-confrontational and the seller is able to make an educated choice, agreeing in advance to a price reduction in 14 days.
