On Saturday, my wife and I decided to drive around a little bit before we went home. We enjoy checking out different neighborhoods because we’re renting and we hope to move again soon.
So when we saw an open house we decided to drop in.
The realtor talked our ear off.
Furthermore, much of what he said was either inaccurate or mildly offensive.
In addition to saying there was nothing wrong with the house (it backed to some monster power lines) and that I probably wouldn’t qualify for a home loan (I was qualified by USAA from Sep-Dec 2008 based on 2007 income) — he said he wasn’t taking listings right now.
I guess that might not be too surprising if a guy had so many listings he really couldn’t take any more. But that was definitely NOT the case.
This guy said he would take a qualified buyer… if he could find one… but that he didn’t want any listings because they stayed on the market so long.
“I’m doing this open house for another agent, actually,” he said. “And this house has been on the market for 150 days.”
The fact that this particular house had been on the market for 150 days was offered as proof for his belief that it wasn’t profitable to list homes for sale.
Then I got to thinking. Wait a second!
People are buying homes right now. For every buyer, there’s a seller. Which means literally HALF of all real estate business involves selling homes. (Duh.)
Now, if you are a realtor, should you list any and every home? Probably not.
The most effective strategy would be to list only the best properties: Those that are in good condition, in a good location, for a good price.
I’m not knocking this guy for focusing on buyers. That’s actually a good strategy — to be an agent only for home buyers.
But this clearly wasn’t a premeditated strategy for this particular realtor. He was so focused on how properties weren’t selling that he decided not to list homes. That’s not a strategy… that’s a reaction.
The whole point of me sharing this story is that it illustrates the raw power of focus to give you what you want… or what you don’t want. I call it the yin and yang of focus.
If you’re focused on the part of the market that’s hurting, your business will probably also hurt. But if you’re focused on the part of the market that’s thriving, your business will probably also thrive.
So while it’s easy to get caught up in negative news and what’s not working, it’s much better to get caught up in positive news and what is working.
Because, ultimately, you tend to get what you focus on.
-Ryan M. Healy
P.S. Did you know Amazon just had their best holiday sales ever?
{ 7 comments }
Great post. BTW, the realtor sounds like someone who won’t be in real estate for much longer and will complain about something else he tried that didn’t work! Wonder why?
I talked to a realtor at Starbucks the other day about doing short sales. She couldn’t talk enough about how HOT her market is and how fast houses are selling in the areas she works. Isn’t that something?
You have to laugh when people say nothing is selling. Houses are most definitely selling…if they are priced correctly. Prices have dropped over the past year in most markets so many are not priced correctly.
We looked at a few homes recently and I had to laugh. Julie commented that the prices didn’t seem to have dropped much in one area. The realtors response was that the other realtors weren’t letting them drop. And she seemed quite offended that any offers I was going to make were going to be significantly below the asking prices. The funny part – this is true even on the listings that said they were “desperate.”
On the right focus (your subject) I agree completely. So many people are focused on all the negatives right now. What to keep in mind is that all bad times also have opportunities appearing all around you. Look for those opportunities and go after them. If you’re looking for bad news, you’ll find it. If you’re looking for good news, it’s around us as well. It’s just hiding.
You’re so right!
Focusing on what’s working is survival. I see fear keeping a lot of people from their business success right now. They need to push back that fear and be willing to step forward.
@Christina – What a contrast! And I’m sure it’s like that all over: some agents doing really well and others doing really poorly.
@Terry – That just kills me when agents balk at so-called “lowball” offers. Home owners are often not in touch with the market.
If a house is on the market for hundreds of days, it’s either priced incorrectly or it’s got a major problem — like backing to a busy intersection.
Right now, certain businesses are posting record profits. Amazon is not the only one. I’ve read stories about army surplus stores and shops that sell survival gear… and they’re doing REALLY well right now.
@Diana – Thanks!
Recession, what recession? I’ve been so focused on creating, marketing and selling my high ticket product that I haven’t paid much attention.
Maybe that’s why my house wouldn’t sell for a good price. Oh well, I always wanted to be a landlord. Might as well get started in real estate!
Wow, did our top Christian copywriter, Ryan Healy, use not one, but TWO terms from the Taoist religion in his headline? :-)
But, yes, I agree. In this world there’s nothing more good than bad, or bad than good. Everything is 50/50. We like to think this is good and this bad, but there’s bad in all good things, and good in all bad things.
Hence why all religions teach this isn’t a great plane to get too caught up in.
@Michael – That’s awesome. When you’re focused on creating value, there’s not much time to focus the news.
@John – For the record, I did once read The Tao of Pooh and The Te of Piglet. :-)
Comments on this entry are closed.