A Fresh Approach to Real Estate Rookie-hood with Jennifer Allan

Why do we put such stock in the Average Days on Market (DOM) statistic in our MLS's? I suppose it might be meaningful if YOUR average DOM is much less than the overall DOM, but otherwise, I believe it's a totally meaningless number.

If I were to run a market analysis of all the 1920's Bungalows that have sold in my market (NW Denver) in the last three months... (okay, wait a sec, I'm going to do that right now... BRB).

Okay, I ran my analysis. Had to go back six months 'cause the last three have been kinda quiet around here.

The DOM of my subject search ranged from 2 days to 171 days. The average DOM was 53. However, out of 21 properties, seven sold in under a week (five of those in less than 3 days), eleven in less than three weeks, while five took over 100 days to sell. Only three of the 21 properties had a DOM of anywhere close to 53.

So, when a seller asks me what the average Days on Market is in Northwest Denver, I tell them "I don't know" and explain why. I then explain why my goal is to sell their home in 30 days or less (obviously it's perfectly do-able in my market), and how I'm going to do that.

But maybe that's just my market. Do you feel that the DOM statistic is meaningful in yours? If so, please explain!

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Have you ever heard the commission-negotiation-avoidance strategy of creating a menu of packages for a seller to choose among? For example (all figures are illustrative only), you might offer a 4% package which includes minimal services; a 5% package which has a moderate level of service and a 6% package that includes a kitchen-sink level of service.

Sounds good, doesn't it? After all, it demonstrates to the seller what you actually DO to sell a house and probably reduces the likelihood of his asking for a discount. If he wants to pay less, he gets less. HIS choice.

Sorry, but I think this is a lousy idea. Why?

Oh, let me count the ways...

You want to sell the house don't you? Yes? Well, then why are you asking your SELLER how to market it? As the expert in selling houses, YOU know what needs to be done and you, as a professional, should do those things.

You should also know what doesn't sell houses in your market. And you shouldn't be offering and charging for those services if you (as a professional real estate agent) know they aren't effective.

When I get a new listing, I really want to sell the damn thing and I spend a lot of time and energy figuring out what we need to do to make that happen. By "we," I mean me and my seller. I don't market every house exactly the same, nor do I advise every seller to do the same things. It's part of my service to analyze each situation individually and proceed accordingly. Some listings will benefit from Open Houses, some won't. Some (most) homes need staging, some don't. Some listings will benefit from newspaper ads, most won't. It's my job to know these things.

Besides, you want to provide exceptional service to all your clients, don't you? Don't you want their future business and referrals? By purposely limiting your service (especially if it affects the marketability of the home), you may be blowing your reputation and credibility with this client and potential source of future business. And of course, you may also be blowing your chances of getting a paycheck if your seller doesn't pick the right package and the house doesn't sell.

I do offer two commission options, but they aren't priced according to the service provided; they're based on whether or not the seller pays an upfront marketing fee. You can learn more about this strategy on my website...  and yes, I tell the world what my commission is - which is a topic for a different blog, but it works amazingly well!

Be a professional real estate agent and do what it takes to sell your listings. That's your job.

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