Your house is on the market. You know the price you want. Buyers are coming through the open home door. Only the Agent knows the ‘vibe’ of how the buyers are responding to the home; there is a lot the sellers don’t see from the buyers body language, subtle facial expressions, to the length of time that each buyer spends in the property and the differing levels of buyer experience, personalities, and the chemistry factor between buyers and Agent; whilst all the while the Agent has to quickly interpret all this, putting his own bias aside as to whether the Agent likes the home themselves and what the Agent really thinks it’s worth and instead accurately communicate the market place information to the seller - yet one fact is inescapable in real estate: no matter what the Agent says it is only a 2nd hand representation and interpretation of the direct buyers feedback. Feedback which is coming from the buyer’s own comparison to alternatives and if they’re interested, the buyers bias on price which is also influenced via the buyers own ‘processing orientation’ as to whether they look to emotion primarily or price primarily; and then to what degree the individual buyer looks to third party influences outside of themselves or is it just what they and their partner thinks?
A keen-minded agent must quickly interpret all this and then formulate an accurate picture of the market response and value and deliver that to the sellers. So how is an Agent to balance sellers’ expectations, buyers bias, and simultaneously act within real estate regulations?
Answer: by the seller and the Agent starting out with the right perspective and aware before one even begins on the likely journey ahead which means considering the downside and the upside before one even begins. But this takes a degree of maturity on both sides because considering the downside doesn’t mean negating the optimism of the upside.
The reality of the sellers’ expectations is that they are an influence on the market and the Agent.
The reality of The Agent is the Agent themselves are an extension of the homes presentation as if the Agent is the host of the event.
For the sellers, friends, and third-party influences (anyone other than the trusted Agent) are often not good sources of accurate information as friends tend to support the desires and laments of their friends rather than guide them towards facing the reality of what the marketplace will likely pay.