1. Tips to Help You Get The Seller to Take Your Lead on Price
Be direct about the benefits of strategic pricing: Use prepared visuals that show objective information from big picture to detail.
Customize and try this dialogue:
“The trend is showing prices in your area dropping 1% each month, and since you want to sell within the next three months, you should take 3% off your price right off the bat. This will give you the competitive edge over competing sellers that have been chasing the market and dropping the price every month, without the air of desperation. Plus, in a market where prices are falling, you’ll make more money if you sell quickly.”
Get them to see it from the buyers position: Tracking local market absorption rates, including the town where the property is located plus the neighboring towns, paired with the recent total number of purchases in those towns is a great way to illustrate the local market activity from the buyers perspective.
Try this dialogue:
“It will be beneficial to look at this from the buyer’s position. The memories that make this home so valuable to you aren’t necessarily shared by the buyer. More likely, they are thinking what they will change about the house. Understanding the current trends of home sales in this area will help you determine a competitive list price in line with the market.”
Call out the risks of ‘testing the market’: Use the comparable active comps marked with days on market and noted price reductions to illustrate the missed opportunity to price competitively from the start.
Try this dialogue:
“If you’re serious about selling your home, don’t play games. In this buyer’s market you have a very small window of opportunity to pull in serious buyers when your home first enters the market. If you play games, like pricing higher to test the market, you will see little to no activity and ultimately end up chasing the market.”
Set them straight about overpricing to leave room for negotiating: The more direct and upfront you are from the beginning, the better you are serving your clients.
Try this dialogue:
“No matter what your reasoning or rationale, overpricing your home to leave room to negotiate is never a good idea. When your home is overpriced, very few potential buyers inquire about it or visit it. If no one wants to buy your home, you won’t have anyone to negotiate with.”
© 2012 Weichert, Realtors®. Each WEICHERT® franchised office is independently
owned and operated. Weichert® is a federally registered trademark owned by Weichert Co.

2. More Tips to Help You Get the Seller to Take Your Lead on Price
Demystify the myth that agents want to price low for a quick sale with little or no effort:
Customize and try this dialogue:
“Professional real estate agents like me that analyze and follow pricing trends know that setting the price too low can be almost as harmful as setting the price too high. Buyers who are looking in a specific range may not consider homes with a low price tag. They assume it will not fulfill their needs or worry there’s something wrong with it.”
Tell what to ask other agents: Set expectations with your clients about what to expect from competing real estate agents they are scheduled to meet and encourage them to ask questions about how they determined the price.
Try this dialogue:
“You will find most real estate agents simply use active comparables to determine the price of your home. I encourage you to ask the other agents you meet to show you how they are tracking and analyzing the local market. If they are not able to explain it or they do not have anything to show you they are likely taking their best guest at the price. For me, it is my personal commitment to understand how to best position your home based on current market trends to sell it is a quickly as possible for the best possible price.”
Pricing Resource available on WeichertOne.com:
© 2012 Weichert, Realtors®. Each WEICHERT® franchised office is independently
owned and operated. Weichert® is a federally registered trademark owned by Weichert Co.