Today, I was asked a question by a homeowner that clearly left a lingering thought in my mind throughout the day. The question, "why did you list a house for $xxx,000 price?  I paid $12,000 more for my house and I have the same exact floor plan"! Now, I am a highly trained professional and knew exactly what to say- "I cannot determine a sellers motivation for selling, they set the price".

This exchange got me to thinking about how many must feel when they see a recently listed property that has been listed for less than what people think they should get for it. I feel your pain!  In fact, one of the foreclosures that just closed (same floor plan as me), sold for  $50,000 less than what I think my house should be worth. We are all in this together but the fact is, I do not set the price for any of my listings. Full disclosure, I have not taken listings when I feel that they are over-priced or have other saleability issues. As much as I would like to, I cannot take listings, spend roughly 10-20% of a commission that I will probably never see. In other words, intentionally taking listings that I know will not sell is foolish. I know this may sound crass but I am in the for-profit business. The othe side of taking a listing above what I feel is a market price is disappointment, to you, the customer, that I am working for. When a home that I have listed does not sell, I have been a failure (granted this has only happened to me 3 times in my whole career) and my seller will not be happy with me.

Know that I am not in this just for myself. Selling a property is a partnership (between seller and Realtor) and both sides need to make it work or we are just wasting out time. The fact is, I control the marketing of a property, not the market. As a homeowner, I will gve you the facts to make an informed decision but you pick the price, you control the condition of the property, together we make it successful.