In a real estate market where demand for home sales has slowed considerably and inventory is rising, selling your home can be an emotionally exhausting experience. It is easy to blame others for why your home is not selling and most times, that blame falls on the real estate agent.
In the current Estes Park Real Estate market, I have seen many listings sit and wait for months with no action. Some listings expire, a few are withdrawn, and some drop their prices to try to gain more attention.
Many of these listings change hands from one agent to the next assuming the next agent will be more effective at selling their home.
There are two ways to look at this change in real estate agents. Getting a fresh agent to represent you and your property can sometimes be a positive change in scenery. New pictures, an updated content description and fresh excitement from the new realtor’s attitude sometimes results in the property selling soon after the change.
On the flip side, all the hard work and effort the first realtor put into the listing will go down the drain. There is nothing worse for a real estate agent than to see their expired listing come back on the market with another realtor at a price they recommended to the seller in the first place.
If you are going to switch real estate agents be sure that you are doing so for the right reasons. I’ve heard stories of agents being dropped because the seller just needed a “change of scenery.” Be sure to look at things objectively to find out if the problem may be outside of the agent’s control. Also be cautious of unreasonable promises from other agents trying to gain your business. If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Selling real estate in this market is a tough business, especially in Estes Park, Colorado.
{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }
Hi Sam. I just finished reading about “Is it time to switch real estate agents”. I thought this was a good read and that you had some good points but I need to know then what would be the “right reasons” to switch realtors? My less than $300,000.00, 3bd/2 ba home has been for sale for nearly 2 years now with just a handful of showings and no bites. Thanks and I look forward to hearing from you.
Jake,
Thanks for the comment. Sorry I hadn’t noticed it for so long.
In my opinion, it would be time to switch Realtors if you feel your agent is no being proactive in figuring out ways to get your home sold for you. If your home looks like it has been on the market for a while, then you can be sure the potential buyers (and their Realtors) think the same way about your home. On the flip side, if fresh photos and description are no help, then discussions need to be had about your price. Bottom line, if your agent isn’t communicating with you regularly about where they are marketing your property and what can be done to get it sold, it is perfectly ok for you to find a new agent when your contract is up. Does that help?
Hi Sam. Yes, this info is very helpful. I am now in a position to look for a new realtor and I am wondering what your commission is? Depending on what it is it would have to be reflected in the sales price for me to make enough off the sale to reinvest in another property that would meet my needs better. This usually translates into more square footage = higher price. I am hoping you will bring more positive energy and a new perspective for marketing and selling my current house.
Thanks.
Jake,
Thanks for the second message. I just sent you an email! Looking forward to hearing back from you.
Jake – I sent you an email earlier, but it bounced. Please give me a call at 970-586-8300.