One Major Disagreement I Have With the National Association of Realtors
As a current member of the National Association of Realtors, I recently came across an article they have on their website about the importance of having a Realtor helping you sell your home. It lists seven points, most of which I agree with varying degrees, but one that I strongly disagree with. The following fallacy continues to infuriate me, as I just think it’s border line unethical – which is one thing Realtor’s are supposed to be (major difference between a Realtor and a real estate agent is our code of ethics).
“Property marketing power. Property doesn’t sell due to advertising alone. A large share of real estate sales comes as the result of a practitioner’s contacts with previous clients, friends, and family. When a property is marketed by a REALTOR®, you do not have to allow strangers into your home. Your REALTOR® will generally prescreen and accompany qualified prospects through your property.”
Let’s walk through this, point by point.
“Property doesn’t sell due to advertising alone.”
I actually agree with this statement, however, not for the reasons they mention in this bullet point. A property generally sells if it’s priced well, presented well, and negotiated well. Having someone that can do those three things will generally get you maximum value.
“A large share of real estate sales comes as the result of a practitioner’s contacts with previous clients, friends, and family.”
Say what? If this were the case, why even list the home? This one kind of makes sense from the outside looking in – a busy Realtor must have a handful of buyers/contacts just waiting to but, really? Outside of perhaps luxury homes, almost everyone home buyer is shopping online, whether it be Realtor.com, Zillow.com, or a private real estate website tied into the local real estate listings.
Additionally, if a busy Realtor were to push the property out to his private contacts prior to listing it – that’s largely determined a “pocket listing” and a major No-No, as it is not giving maximum exposure to the listing and also withholding a property from the general public. A Realtor can incur major fines from their local MLS for this. So I really strongly disagree with this point; my family is not going to buy a listing I have, and neither will my previous clients, unless it was an investment. Side note: real estate investors absolutely, in my opinion, should have a good Realtor for many, many reasons.
“When a property is marketed by a REALTOR®, you do not have to allow strangers into your home.”
You absolutely will allow strangers into your home if you want to buy your house. That’s the nature of showings. All showings (and probably 98% are) will have a buyer’s agent with their client. The buyer’s agent will have had a background check and a licensed agent. With that being said, if you were to hold an open houses, you would be welcoming strangers unaccompanied by agents into your home.
“Your REALTOR® will generally prescreen and accompany qualified prospects through your property.”
This is sort of framed odd. Your Realtor will almost never pre-screen anyone, because your Realtor rarely, if ever, shows your property. The listing agent lists the home for sale and tells buyer’s agents, “Hey, I will give you a commission if you bring a buyer.” So the buyer’s agents do the leg work, pre-scree, pre-approve, etc. Your listing agent does pre-screen buyers. About the only thing the listing agent can do is to dictate that if someone wants to see your house that they be pre-approved by the bank. Most buyer’s are pre-approved, so that’s a moot as well (for the most part.)
If you care to see the other six reasons to hire a Realtor, here is the link:
https://magazine.realtor/sales-and-marketing/handouts-for-customers/for-sellers/7-reasons-to-work-with-a-realtor
“Property marketing power. Property doesn’t sell due to advertising alone. A large share of real estate sales comes as the result of a practitioner’s contacts with previous clients, friends, and family. When a property is marketed by a REALTOR®, you do not have to allow strangers into your home. Your REALTOR® will generally prescreen and accompany qualified prospects through your property.”
Let’s walk through this, point by point.
“Property doesn’t sell due to advertising alone.”
I actually agree with this statement, however, not for the reasons they mention in this bullet point. A property generally sells if it’s priced well, presented well, and negotiated well. Having someone that can do those three things will generally get you maximum value.
“A large share of real estate sales comes as the result of a practitioner’s contacts with previous clients, friends, and family.”
Say what? If this were the case, why even list the home? This one kind of makes sense from the outside looking in – a busy Realtor must have a handful of buyers/contacts just waiting to but, really? Outside of perhaps luxury homes, almost everyone home buyer is shopping online, whether it be Realtor.com, Zillow.com, or a private real estate website tied into the local real estate listings.
Additionally, if a busy Realtor were to push the property out to his private contacts prior to listing it – that’s largely determined a “pocket listing” and a major No-No, as it is not giving maximum exposure to the listing and also withholding a property from the general public. A Realtor can incur major fines from their local MLS for this. So I really strongly disagree with this point; my family is not going to buy a listing I have, and neither will my previous clients, unless it was an investment. Side note: real estate investors absolutely, in my opinion, should have a good Realtor for many, many reasons.
“When a property is marketed by a REALTOR®, you do not have to allow strangers into your home.”
You absolutely will allow strangers into your home if you want to buy your house. That’s the nature of showings. All showings (and probably 98% are) will have a buyer’s agent with their client. The buyer’s agent will have had a background check and a licensed agent. With that being said, if you were to hold an open houses, you would be welcoming strangers unaccompanied by agents into your home.
“Your REALTOR® will generally prescreen and accompany qualified prospects through your property.”
This is sort of framed odd. Your Realtor will almost never pre-screen anyone, because your Realtor rarely, if ever, shows your property. The listing agent lists the home for sale and tells buyer’s agents, “Hey, I will give you a commission if you bring a buyer.” So the buyer’s agents do the leg work, pre-scree, pre-approve, etc. Your listing agent does pre-screen buyers. About the only thing the listing agent can do is to dictate that if someone wants to see your house that they be pre-approved by the bank. Most buyer’s are pre-approved, so that’s a moot as well (for the most part.)
If you care to see the other six reasons to hire a Realtor, here is the link:
https://magazine.realtor/sales-and-marketing/handouts-for-customers/for-sellers/7-reasons-to-work-with-a-realtor