Maybe you should try a couple of listing presentations yourself. I believe you may find what we already know- the seller is looking for someone to sell at the number they’re already dreaming of.

Redfin gives the consumer persmission to list at that dream price without much resistance. I bet on your own listing appointment you will see that bringing them down is maybe harder then you think.

Several reasons Realtors want a FMV sales price is because the last thing a Realtor wants is a home that collects dust. We want to attract the most traffic because that is the point of getting listings. If you honestly believe a Realtor (on purpose) sets prices and sets them high, then nothing I’ll say will change your mind, but if you stand back and look at this objectively, you’ll know the only agent jumping at a higher price for a couple hundred dollars would be a rare case, because it’s costing the agent thousands for the property to just sit there.

You see, Glenn, that’s where you are missing the boat. Why hire an agent if you don’t need opinion or advice? If Redfin is merely a data dispenser, you’re grossly overcharging for your service.

However, if you’re a data dispenser with a license to “steal” by gaming the co-brokerage agreements, then you are thieves. You’re holding a customer hostage by the co-brokerage agreement. In my industry (mortgage brokerage), there are similar models who “game” the wholesale lending/brokerage agreements by matching up borrowers with lenders and then doing nothing to earn their fee. They are thieves.

There is room for Redfin in this space. I think you’re neither a thief nor a data dispenser. I think that when you admit that your model is more in line with the old Charles Schwab, or the modern day Ameritrade, you’ll find a more purposeful USP.

Really? Well, someone ought to tell all the agents in my neighborhood that they’re neither experienced NOR pricing houses right then. Care for a drive-by? Three of the five houses on my block just got pulled and turned into rentals because they didn’t sell in 120+ days. They were priced right … for 9 months months ago.

So while I’m sure you have a lot of experience and most likely sell all the houses you list quickly, Nancye, apparently there are a lot of Realtors out there who take their clients’ pricing advice over their own, experienced advice.

If a Realtor knows a house is not going to sell and they know it’s going to take a hit when its price is eventually lowered, why would a Realtor work with that client if they’re unwilling to head the advice they’re paying you a commission for? Isn’t that just gambling with the Realtor’s professional fiduciary responsibility? Isn’t that just a waste of the Realtor’s (and seller’s and buyer’s) time and money?

It’s like a patient telling a doctor that, contrary to symptoms and test results, they DON’T have diabetes – and would the doctor please pass the candy bowl, thank you very much. How would “experienced” doctors respond to that patient? “Here’s the bowl, thanks for the co-pay, hope it all works out.” Doubtful. But that’s what it seems most Realtors are doing, even a lot of the “experienced” ones, when they cave to the seller’s errant pricing.

And in closing I’ll add that just being able to hang onto the market for a certain number of years doesn’t make you “experienced.” “Experienced” isn’t enough! I’ve known a half-dozen couples with one as a Realtor, one as a well-paid, full-time employee of a company … the latter who brings home the bacon, the former who agents as a hobby. I want an expert Realtor, not someone who has made it into the double-diamond foo foo club of their local office for number of houses sold or for bringing in $500k+ because they’re linked in with the right social/exclusive circles. A button on a lapel doesn’t sell my house. Expertise and experience combined does. I’d take a 5 yr smart, resourceful, expert agent over a hobby agent with 10+ years any day.

Selling lots and lots of homes makes an agent “experienced”, and following trends and understanding the market – REALLY understanding the market like what Redfin does with sales data and smarty engineers cranking out percentages on everything – is what makes you and expert.

I want both, because I believe those are the Realtors who price houses the best.

My observation was that the dynamic of pitching a client can create pressure to list at a price that is too high, but I did not have time on the air to quibble with the anchor’s personal experience.