Listing Price vs. Listing Timing: Which is more important?

One of the most difficult decisions a real estate agent needs to make is when to put a listing on the market. However, putting too much emphasis on timing as opposed to determining the appropriate price of the listing can be counterproductive and result in listings staying on the market for months. We talked to expert trainer Tami Simms about how the listing price is often more important than the time of year that a property gets put on the market.

Play the video to listen to the interview or read the transcript below.

Q: What are some common mistakes you see high-end real estate agents make when it comes to listing properties?

A: Every market has what they refer to as a selling season. But sometimes, we get stuck on the idea of when that season is and what happens when we’re not in that strongest season. And we sometimes don’t make wise decisions because we’re relying on what used to be true, or what we think to be true, without really drilling into what really is true right now.

For example, there’s a lot of seasoned professionals in my marketplace who go on vacation for the whole summer, because they believe that all of the people who are buying higher-end properties are also on vacation for the entire summer and that nobody is buying property. So, I hear them telling their clients, “No. Don’t list it now. You shouldn’t list it in the summer because it will just sit there and get stale on the market.” And I, being a full-time REALTOR®, I have always known that there’s business that goes on all year long. It doesn’t matter whether it’s summer. It doesn’t matter if it’s Mother’s Day, Christmas, New Year’s—no two years are exactly the same. So, you can’t fall into the rut of thinking that there’s not going to be any business without really seeing if it’s true.

Q: How do you determine if it is a good time to sell or wait to put a property on the market?

A: So in the case of one potential listing in the million and a half dollar range, I sat down with one of our members and we analyzed the last three years’ worth of sales of condos between a million and 2 million dollars in the appropriate geographic core. So we took that price band, which we talk a lot about in the [Institute’s] training, and we looked at when the properties closed, when they went to contract, which is exactly when the buyer was in the market and took advantage, and took action, and put the property under contract. So that means that you’re not worried about which one was a 30-day close, which one was a 90-day close. For whatever circumstances, when did the buyer act on that? And while we did see a slight decrease in the activity, there was still activity. There were still people buying million-dollar condos in the summer months. And so it was not as clearcut of, you’ve got business and then it completely shuts off in the summer. If you priced something appropriately, there are buyers out there who will take advantage of it no matter when.

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So I think that it’s important for us not to dwell on what has historically been true or what we believe to be true, but we need to always be analyzing, use the data as our guide. And that gives us an incredible amount of credibility with the consumers. Let’s say there’s a buyer who comes into town and says, “Hey, well I know that the summer is slow, so I’m going to be able to get an incredible bargain. They may be asking $2 million, I’m going to low ball them at $1.2 million. If they think that they’re going to get a buyer in the summer, they’re going to take it.” And so if you have that data at your fingertips and you understand the nuances of the market and what’s truly been happening now as opposed to five years ago, 10 years ago—you can help counsel people to make more realistic offers. You can help counsel sellers on the importance of not so much exactly when they put their property on the market, but how important it is to price it correctly.

Q: Why do you think people are so averse to listing properties in the summer months?

A: Another pushback that I hear is, “Oh, those properties that went on the market in the summer, they sat there, and they languished, and they had to do five price reductions before they finally sold in the fall when everybody was back from their vacation homes.” Well, that to me is not saying anything about the buyer pool. That to me is saying that they priced it incorrectly to begin with. And so if you track that, if you pull those pieces away, those that had really long number of days on the market before they sold after several price reductions and then track back to those properties that were brought on the market that sold really close to their list price, you can absolutely see that listing a property appropriately is far more important than, did it come on in the first week of June or in the last week of August.

Especially in today’s environment, I mean, people are digital. So yes, there was a time when people would go to their cabin in North Carolina for the summer, and they would be completely checked out because they didn’t have the internet. They weren’t looking at Facebook. They weren’t watching realtor.com. But now those things are different, and people remain connected. Even if they are summering or vacationing or whatnot, they’re not shut off. If they’re in the market for a property or have their eye out for something in case it comes up, it doesn’t matter if they’re sitting in North Carolina or if they’re in Alaska or what they’re doing. If the opportunity comes up and the price is right and the product is desirable, they’re going to act on it whenever that is.

Tami Simms is a real estate marketing expert and accomplished trainer. Her background in advertising and as a concierge at a luxury resort provides her with real insights on reaching and serving the luxury consumer. Committed to community involvement, Tami has more than twenty years of non-profit board experience and ensures that volunteerism and good corporate citizenship are integral parts of her personal and professional life. She serves on numerous civic, municipal, and non-profit boards and committees in her local community and statewide. Learn more about Tami at SimmsTeam.com.

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