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No one wants to talk about reducing the price of their home. It’s human nature to strive for the best possible outcome, especially when it’s about something as financially important as a home sale. As an agent, it is your responsibility to do everything within your power to help your seller clients achieve their real estate goals. You need to show them you are on their side and will fight for what they want.
On the other hand, you need to be realistic. Simply telling your seller that everything will work out perfectly and hoping for the best will not get the job done, especially in our current market. Things are shifting, and while it may not be a buyer’s market yet, the scales are tipping in that direction. This means you may need to have the dreaded “price reduction” conversation with your buyer. Here are three tips to make the discussion as easy as possible:
1. Exhaust all other options first. Show them you don’t take this lightly and have tried everything you can to avoid doing this. Change the main advertising photo or headline, speak to a larger demographic, improve the marketing, post more about it on social media, etc. Then, ask them what they think you should be trying. Include them in the conversation and make them feel like you’re on their side.
“If you come prepared and put yourself in the shoes of your clients, they will notice.”
2. Show them the facts. If you believe a price reduction is necessary, they deserve to know why. Show them what the responses from possible buyers have been and how the market affects their situation. When you do agree on a price reduction, be intentional with how much you’re taking off by doing the proper market research and sharing it with your client. Lastly, it is always better to use kinder wording like “price adjustment” or “repositioning” instead of “price reduction.”
3. Agree to follow up regularly. Pricing is something that needs to be reevaluated regularly, and they might find comfort in knowing that this doesn’t have to be permanent. Things change too often in this market to not be constantly assessing what’s best. Again, your clients will feel better if they’re involved, so reach out to them frequently, and do so in person instead of over the phone.
This isn’t the easiest part of an agent’s job, but if you come prepared and put yourself in the shoes of your clients, they will notice. If you need any more help with these tough conversations, let me know. I would love to give you advice. Call or email me with any questions. I look forward to hearing from you!
