8 Things Home Sellers Often Demand (But Won’t Help an Overpriced Home)

Probably the most important thing a listing agent does to help you get your home sold for the highest price possible is to do a thorough comparative market analysis (CMA) and suggest an appropriate listing price.

Unfortunately, many sellers choose to ignore the data and advice, and initially list their house for too high of a price. That’s not a huge problem if they reduce the price after testing the market for a brief period of time and don’t get any offers. But some sellers continue to desperately hold onto the false belief that they can somehow get their sky-high price… if only the agent would do things differently.

Other than an occasional fluke, most overpriced listings will linger on the market until the seller reduces it to a reasonable amount. But here are 9 things home sellers often demand of their listing agent, rather than do the one thing that’ll actually help get their house sold:

1) Demanding More Open Houses

Even if your agent agreed to hold open houses every Saturday and Sunday, from dawn ‘til dusk, it’s not going to get your house sold if your house is priced too high.

2) Demanding More Creative Marketing

Even if your agent took out a full-page ad in the New York Times, hired a pilot to fly over your house with a banner ad furling in the air behind the plane, and personally stand on the busiest street in your area holding an arrow pointing toward your house, no amount of extravagant marketing will overcome overpricing.

3) Demanding Their Agent to Follow-Up More

In an ideal world, a listing agent could reach out to every agent and buyer who has come to see their listings and get constructive feedback about what people like and don’t like, and see if there’s any interest in making an offer. But it’s almost impossible for them to get that on even the nicest, most well-priced listings they take.

So don’t expect your agent to be able to get many calls back, let alone input or interest from buyers, no matter how many times they follow-up with agents and buyers… until and unless you reduce the price to a reasonable amount.

4) Demanding Some Say in the Listing Description or Ad Copy

Let’s be honest… buyers are judging your house by the pictures they see, more than any words they might read in the listing description or marketing materials. But that doesn’t stop sellers who’ve overpriced their home from blaming the sales copy that their agent has written for their house not selling, and sending along some suggestions (or even writing their own copy) for the agent to use instead.

Even a pro copywriter with oodles of experience in the real estate sector isn’t going to be able to wow buyers into overlooking your price, so don’t bank on your inner Shakespeare wooing them.

5) Demanding to Stick around During Showings

When a seller’s house isn’t selling due to the price, they often chalk it up to the buyers’ agents not showing their house thoroughly and pointing out every little detail the owner thinks makes it worth the inflated price tag. So a natural conclusion is often to decide that they’ll stick around for showings and give the buyers and their agents a personal tour of the home, making sure to point out and sell them on every last detail.

Not only will it not get people to see the value you claim your house is worth, it’ll make them desperate to get out of the house ASAP and on the road to see a house that’s priced appropriately.

6) Demanding Their Agent to Be More Aggressive With Buyers

Another thing sellers start to think when their overpriced house isn’t selling is that it might be because their agent isn’t using the slickest sales tactics they could to convince people to make an offer, make it now, and make it for the asking price… or more!

Pressure, faking interest from other parties, or slick sales talk isn’t going to help your cause if your house is listed above market value. In fact, it’ll probably turn buyers off even more.

7) Demanding Their Agent to Bury a Statue in the Yard

Some people believe that burying a statue of Saint Joseph in the front yard will help get a home sold. So, if your house isn’t selling, you might get that advice from someone and think it sounds like a good idea. Well, it can’t hurt, so go right ahead. Just don’t bank on it solving the underlying issue that your price is way too high.

8) Demanding to List With Another Agent

When a seller has exhausted all of the above demands, the last gasp of hope is often to demand that they be released from their listing contract early so that they can list with another agent, who probably over-promised them that they could work a miracle.

But the part of the miracle they likely left out is that it will entail the owner finally reducing their price to a more appropriate amount, whether that’s on day one of the new listing, a week later, or a month later. But until the price is reduced, a new agent isn’t going to be any more able to get an overpriced listing sold.