There’s always been an interesting topic amongst real estate agents and real estate brokers about how to position themselves in the marketplace.  The thought goes that if you have a niche, it’s easier for you to do business with those in the niche as those potential clients will actively seek you out.  So, as an example, there’s probably a real estate agent in St. Louis dedicated to selling horse farms.  There are probably a thousand agents whose “specialty” is luxury homes.  This may work for some real estate agents, but as the owner of a real estate brokerage in St. Louis, I’m somewhat uncomfortable in the idea of a niche.  It’s my opinion that to grow as an agent, you need to be able to do more than one thing well.  That’s why at Deerwood Realty, we list all houses for sale in St. Louis.  I’ll be the first to admit that not all of them are winners and I’m OK with that.

One Strange Fear Listing Homes That Aren’t Winners

Many franchised real estate brokerages compete as brands.  So, the largest brokerage company, NRT has different brands to appeal to different segments of the market.  When you think of Coldwell Banker, you don’t get the same brand affinity as that of Sotheby’s, but the brands are both owned by the same company.  Will Sotheby’s list a home that isn’t a winner and risk their brand?  Of course!  This is an area where the marketing and branding doesn’t seem to affect anything in the real world of listing homes for sale.

I’ve had an odd fear about listing homes for sale in St. Louis, but it’s the opposite of the fear that listing a home for sale that isn’t a winner hurts our brand.  My fear is that a potential buyer or seller might think we only list and sell luxury homes and are afraid to reach out to us for our real estate services when the home in question doesn’t exactly meet the definition of luxury.

What If The Home You Want To List For Sale Isn’t A Winner?

This is where an experienced real estate agent can be so very helpful.  As an example, I work with many buyers as a buyer’s agent and I know what’s “in” and what’s “out” for home buyers.  Buyers want modern features, and they don’t particularly have a vision for their new home.  The houses that command a premium in the marketplace are homes that are well maintained, have the right features, and are located in areas where people really want to be.

However, I would say 85 to 90 percent of the homes I see listed aren’t really winners.  Am I being too harsh?  I don’t think so.  I see a lot of houses, and  I don’t see many winners.  There can be two reasons for why I don’t see many winners.

 

  1. The houses are gone before my buyer can get a showing scheduled

 

  1. The premium asked for those winning houses doesn’t allow for my buyers to be comfortable

If you want to list a home for sale in St. Louis, you need to be honest with yourself and the marketplace.  It’s completely fine to list a house for sale that hasn’t been updated in 70 years, but you can’t possibly expect that a buyer today is going to pay a premium for that house.  You are better off lowering your asking price to reflect the amount of work needed.

If 85 to 90 percent of the homes that get listed aren’t winners, don’t get discouraged.  The vast majority of the homes fall in the range of about 25% to 85%.  These homes are fine homes but just need a little work, or maybe have lot issues or location issues that bring the value down in the opinion of the buyer.  A good real estate agent is going to do just fine with this type of listing.

How Deerwood Realty Markets Houses That Are Winners And Non-Winners

I think this is an important question when you are interviewing listing agents.  How will you market my home?  Some listing agents have no experience with properties that may be hard to sell.  When they go to list the property for sale, everything will be wrong about the marketing remarks, the pictures, etc.  These real estate agents might even be embarrassed to associate their name with an awful listing, which will definitely effect the voracity of the marketing.  Don’t let that be you!  Work with a real estate agent who is grateful that you chose them to take the listing.  This goes a long way in getting a home that might not be a winner sold.

At Deerwood Realty, we will list all houses for sale, and we will market them with the same tenacity whether it be a winner or not so much.  This makes it easy for you, and it makes it easy for us.  We don’t feel like our brand suffers from representing sellers who have homes for sale that may be difficult.  Our brand suffers if we don’t provide excellent service to each and every one of our clients.

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