Just like you, I don’t know everything, but I do know some things.
I have been selling real estate for over 10 years now and I hear all sorts of things from people who claim they are real estate experts, including agents. Exactly where in the experience of knowledge growth does one have to cross to believe they have achieved “expertness”? What is the threshold? Do doctors and lawyers slap an “expert” designation upon their business cards or adorn the entry doors to their offices with a moniker suggesting the same? Maybe “practice” or “specialist” are more appropriate and fitting for the never-ending river of information and focus that it takes to navigate the real estate industry. If anyone is a life expert in Naples, please call me. I have questions.
One current nugget of wisdom I hear often is that a certain home on the market is “overpriced”. That is pretty vague. What does that even mean? Maybe it just means that the price is too high for a certain buyer at a certain time in their life. Maybe this is why offers on properties can be all over the place, because people hold varying levels of value for things. I understand where some agents are coming from because most agents look at comparative sales as the only metric from which a listing should be priced. Other limitations that these licensees hold is that of either near-sightedness or laziness. A motivation to skew value downward is inherent in the buyer’s agent job description, kind of, and oftentimes derails the desire of their customers and clients. If only agents who can claim the title “REALTOR®” would not fear their sophisticated customers and stand firm on bringing the two ends together, we wouldn’t be seeing the lowest sales since 2008. There are several ways of pondering value and what an investor stands to profit is hardly the end-all exercise. I know I will probably get mean emails over that last statement. That’s OK, God gave us all emotions… and a trash folder.
But there are always two sides to a story! Listing agents can definitely tow the line of pie in the sky, fantastical, over-promising, imaginary craftiness to get that listing agreement signed only to pinch the sellers with price drops a few weeks after. This obstruction of ethics does not serve our customers and clients! So for those listing agents, an appropriate amount of proverbial wake up slaps are well deserved… and inevitable. But it is laughable for an investor, who clearly has motivation for as much profit as possible, to walk into my open house and verbally offer 25% under a fair price for a home. I was born in the morning but not this morning, Many a-folk have made, and continue to make, fortunes off of the despair of others. But the market ain’t that bad. If it turns, these low-ballers probably won’t be buying for a while anyway. Am I the investor’s worst nightmare? Hardly. I am merely immovable when it comes to fairness and ethics. If an investor truly believes value to be much lower than the listing price of a home, write an offer! Remember that the conversation is between the prospective buyer and the seller. If a seller continually receives low offers, then that is the market talking to them. Conversely, if a buyer’s offer is continually rejected, that buyer and their agent need to recalibrate their understanding of the real estate landscape. Verbal offers mean nothing. Get serious.
Ethics & The Real Work
Josh Amolsch | Naples Luxury Real Estate
Naples Seller’s Agent
