Short Listing Periods Are Not Useful To Anyone 

This week, I have received several calls from sellers inquiring about our services… and in each conversation, the sellers would not list their properties for more than 90 days.

We will not take a full-service listing for only 90 days

Listing a property can be a simple process… but it can also be an extensive one. For us, there is substantial research to be performed to help our clients establish a proper list price… including previewing some of the listings that our client will be competing with.

Then we have to gear up the marketing - often including our single property websites. These materials must be designed, produced, and checked for accuracy - then published. It is not uncommon for more than 60 hours to be spent on this stage of the process.

With a current inventory of properties in the Atlanta metro area rapidly approaching a 12 month supply, taking a 90 day listing would not make any sense - unless, of course, the seller would list the property at a below-market price.

"But I don’t want to be locked into a long-term agreement!"

Sometimes, sellers believe a short listing period will keep them from being locked into another agreement with an agent who they feel "isn’t aggressive enough". While I can sympathize with their sentiments - more often than not, the reason their agent couldn’t sell their property was because the price was too high.

For example, today I called the listing agent of a property we placed an offer on a few weeks ago. This agent is NOT the agent who represented the seller when we placed the offer - he’s the NEW agent. He took the listing for $185K ($5K less than the previous listing) and they have recently reduced it to $180K.

I expect the price to drop to $175K before an offer will come in… unless, of course, we resubmit our offer.

Another home we viewed in that area finally went under contract after being on the market for over a year and listed with several agents. Was it the new agent that made the difference? No - after over a year at the price tag of $250K the seller finally reduced the price to $235K and voila - a contract was presented.

In both of these examples, the previous listing agents worked hard to try to get the sellers the most for their properties - yet they received no compensation for their efforts.

"They shouldn’t have taken those over-priced listings!"

Now while some might argue "if those agents were worth their salt, they wouldn’t have taken those over-priced listings", and while I agree with that sentiment in principle - it doesn’t always work that way in practice.

On several occasions, I have taken a listing for a higher price than I felt was attainable, only to find out I was wrong. Ultimately, the price is set by the seller - and I respect that. If the seller is way out of line - I’ll pass on that listing.

Won’t shorter listing periods make the agent work harder?

Not really. In fact, the agent might try to convince you to take a lower offer than you should - just because of the short listing period. Who is helped by that strategy?

The only way for an agent to be certain that a sale is likely within the 90 day window is to be sure that the listing is taken at a low price. Who is helped by that strategy?

How fast do you really need to sell your property?

If you need a quick sale, and you are willing to price your property below market for a quick sale - then I can understand the short listing period. But this is seldom the situation with most sellers.

My advice is to find an agent you can relate to - someone who can explain the process and how you can work together to achieve the goal of selling the property. If you relate well with them - give them enough time to do their job.

For the most part - 90 days ain’t gonna cut it.