Don't Take That Listing Just To Have A Listing!

There was a time when I would take a listing even if it were slightly overpriced. I knew slightly overpriced today meant market price six months or a year from now. However, those days are gone. Maybe that is a good thing. Homes were being priced out of range for first time homebuyers. That's where all the strange mortgage packages came in. Just recently I went on a listing appointment. The house had quite a bit of acreage, but it was an odd shaped piece of property. The home was listed last year by two different companies and did not sell. Getting back to my office and thinking about the house and land I started putting the numbers down on paper. I looked at the comps from a year back. Then I looked at comps from nine months back. The market was getting soft last year, but this year it has completely changed. Not only from a pricing standpoint but also from who can qualify for a mortgage? I contacted the sellers and told them. They were not pleased and I probably will not get the listing. Nevertheless, I would rather not take an overpriced listing that will not sell as take one and let it sit there and expire a few months down the road. If it were going to sell at a higher price it would have sold last year when it was on the market twice by two different companies and money was easier to obtain. As REALTORS®, we do have an obligation to be honest with the owner: Standard of Practice 1-3 REALTORS®, in attempting to secure a listing, shall not deliberately mislead the owner as to market value. I've been selling homes since 1997 and have always found the preceding to be a good rule. For the years 2001 - 2007 my sale through rate was 76% and my list price to sale price was 97%. I don't know if we will have those days again, but if I take a listing just to have a listing, I'm not only hurting the seller, I'm hurting myself.