Audacity in real estate

You won’t win if you use a boring Realtor - BanCorp leads from the front

A real estate can’t grow with affecting change, and it won’t change if it is content with where it stands presently with its clients, stakeholders and vendors. A real estate firm that decides that it wants to “play it safe” likely is not growing and is stagnant and most likely is not looking out for the best interests of their clientele – regardless of whether they are representing them as a buyer’s or listing agent.

Why do I say this? If your real estate broker is not willing to a take a risk, even a small one, they are leaving money on the table in the short-term and that translates into larger long-term net loses relative to a person’s opportunity cost. If you live in a tract home and there have been 7 model matches of your exact home that have sold in the last 6 months for $650,000, is there any harm in listing the home for $680,000 (a rhetorical question)? I bet your neighbors would be happy! Let’s flip the tables and say you were a buyer of this newly listed home at $680,000 and you love it – what are you going to do? Offer $660,000? See where this is going? I could give you other examples, but I believe I have made my point.

Conclusion: If you leave $10,000 or $20,000 on the table when you are buying a home that could translate out to $20,000 or $40,000 in the near future. If you are selling a home and don’t plan on buying another, and you were to invest that money into let’s say the stock market, the same scenario could likely play out. If you are working with a status-quo boring Realtor, consider moving onto one with a little audacity.

Greg Steinaker in the President and CEO of BanCorp Realty.