Would You Fire My Realtor After 7-8 Months and 1 Offer?

Would You Fire My Realtor After 7-8 Months and 1 Offer?

FLL · Member since 2016 · 98 posts · 20 votes

So before you jump on me, my property is priced at $3.7M but its been listed since november and we've had around 20+ showings and 1 serious offer which fell apart bc the buyer had issues bringing over the money from italy. The high end market has slowed down, but the property is actually cheaper than some comps in the building on a per foot basis and actually has a very nice view. The problem is when I signed it, I agreed to a 1 year listing bc the realtor is a friend of mine and has sold 3 other properties for me in the past no issues, but I think this price range is over her head in terms of marketing,etc. Anyways its been 7-8 months already and Im getting tired of it and want to go to a bigtime realtor who I think can get it sold. The issue is there is a .5% cancellation fee if I cancel and list with another agent. Listing ends in november. Any help you can offer me would be appreciated.

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Russell BrazilBusiness Member
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Real Estate Agent · Washington, D.C. · Member since 2012 · 17k+ posts · 30k+ votes
9y

You have to know how to market the property. Often when I'm dealing with properties in this price range, I'm advertising it in Christies international real estate magazine. I'm contacting every agent who does business as this price point to see if they have buyers. I'm contacting agents in other metro areas to see if they have buyers for a 2nd home in my city.  There's a little bit more leg work to be done. 3D virtual tour is typically a must, as you might get a long distance buyer who can't preview the property. Agent bonus to buyers agent can help too.

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  • Investor · Tarzana CA and Houston, TX · Member since 2015 · 326 posts · 130 votes
    9y

    the problem is that its in HOUSTON, ok now that the joke is over..

    i think you are dealing with a lot of factors that are working against you.  when you have somebody willing to pay over 2.5m you are going to get people that want in river oaks, blvd oaks , west u maybe, memorial hedwig etc...not a condo...yes i know condos trade and yes i know that theres a ton being built...but those are not factors working for you.

    right now oil and gas execs have a lot of risk on the horizon, they are your target market in my opinion.  the buyer is not going to be a foreign guy who thinks houston is a great city poised for growth because this city is not nearly as diversified as people think it is...the smart money knows theres a lot of oil and gas risk still on the table.  how do i know?.... i work in the oil and gas industry as my day  job and i have reluctantly lived in houston for many years now.  in fact i feel so uneasy about the oil and gas situation here that i have built up over a $6m portfolio in r/e in los angeles instead of houston while renting an apartment in houston...i only recently bought a small house here and a duplex... all in my exposure in terms of real estate is less than 300k out of 6m.i really do wish you all the best and hope you get it sold at a great price and hope that i am dead wrong about this city for my own selfish reasons  but i absolutely dont think the luxury market has legs in this city without some pain first.

    @Danny N.

  • FLL · Member since 2016 · 98 posts · 20 votes
    9y

    Yes I know that many have not sold recently and I know there's maybe 15 condos over $3M when I look on har.com so all are contributing to a slower sales process. As for alex, we've been hearing the same thing since the original crash in 2014 of oil prices and in that timeframe houston has been rising steadily. Oil is $45/barrel, how much lower can it possibly go from here? We were in the 20s in 2014 and home prices were still up. This condo is actually in river oaks btw. As for where houston goes, Im not the pessimist most are because even at today's supposed market peak, we're still seeing homes for sub $400/ft in the best areas which is incredibly cheap vs the other cities in the top 4 of the country population wise: NYC,LA,Chicago. Houston is finally starting to get some respect as we get a major influx of people coming from other cities looking for lower taxes and better quality of life. Los Angeles is a wonderful place but if you're looking to spend $3M it still goes way further in Houston than it does in LA or NYC. As I mentioned my condo is 4600 sq ft, my brother in law just bought a condo in NYC for over $4500/sq ft, so a comparable condo in his building would be $20m in NYC vs $3.7M in Houston.

    Im not saying Houston is as good as those other places, but its still very cheap and we have plenty of non oil jobs. I know a few of my neighbors here and not one of them is an oil exec, so that misconception is overdone about Houston. We have lots of middle class guys out in the suburbs working in O&G but the execs even in oil and gas are still making big money, even now, as we know, the execs are usually the last to see paycuts. 

  • Rental Property Investor · San Diego, CA · Member since 2013 · 3k+ posts · 4k+ votes
    9y
    I have holes in the Westmoreland area of Montrose. An old "not great" 100 year old home in $1m. Behind my street is Courtlandt Pl where homes are $4m "Houston is cheap" is a myth. Yes there are cheap areas. But there are also very $$$ areas (sometimes those areas are very close to each other) As to OP: dude, no offense but you're priced too high. If the property is on the MLS then buyers for that and their buyers agent can see it already. So yeah. If it hasn't sold, that's the market saying "too high!" If you want to sell it, lower the price. If you don't care about timing and want your price, then sit and wait for that buyer.
  • Rental Property Investor · San Diego, CA · Member since 2013 · 3k+ posts · 4k+ votes
    9y
    *homes. Not holes. Come on BP. Don't you have enough "Pro" people paying to afford a better mobile app (that can edit, quote correctly, add images)
  • Real Estate Investor · Audubon, PA · Member since 2009 · 13k+ posts · 8k+ votes
    9y
    Originally posted by @Cody L.:

    *homes. Not holes.

    Come on BP. Don't you have enough "Pro" people paying to afford a better mobile app (that can edit, quote correctly, add images)

     I use the mobile version of the website using a web browser from my smartphone - that does allow for edits, and I even think images can be included too. And I deleted the app because I have too much stuff on my pone and need the freed up space :)

  • Flipper · Colleyville, TX · Member since 2014 · 59 posts · 23 votes
    9y

    @Danny N. obviously, I have no dog in the fight. Neither does any one else that has taken the time to offer you advice or possible suggestions. But they have still given their time. Reading through this thread it appears that someone offers advice then you reply back to refute it. Then raw numbers are given which are either disregarded or refuted. 

    I would suggest you try to re-read this thread without the goal of defending Houston or the reason(s) you have justified your price. Pay attention to the responses that have gotten the most votes. 

    It really feels like you are taking each suggestion in a vacuum. You refute it, then dust off your hands feeling like you've done a great job convincing the other person that they just don't know the Houston market like you do. Look holistically at the responses. There are some wise and experienced people that have offered you their advice freely.

    After all the wise people have offered advice, you'll have to make do with me. Here is my advice regarding your property. The numbers cannot lie. Average DOM for your comps (price range) will almost always tell you when you will sell your condo. If you don't have enough data to come up with a good avg. DOM then your property is an outlier and will take longer to sell (will need to be priced more aggressively). If you have already exceeded the avg. DOM, then you are priced too high for what you are offering. If you aren't getting showings, that is the market telling you that you are priced too high for what you are offering. 

    Check in with your agent and ask her what she is doing to market the property. Ask her what she thinks might be causing any delay with the sale. Doing so might reinvigorate her. Inquire about the avg. DOM for your comps. Ask her what she thinks the property should be listed for. 

    At the end of the day, you need to use all the information you have at hand to decide if you want to be the proud owner of a condo that only you think is worth 3.7M, or if you want to sell your property for what someone is willing to pay for it.

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