Coming Soon Listings... Big Scam or Big Opportunity?

If you're a buyer and come upon a property marketed as "Coming Soon", how does that help you?  It's so exciting, right!?  You might be the first one through the door!!!!!!  Here are a few things to consider.  If it's really coming soon, that means it's not yet available to be sold by definition.  It will be, but not yet.  If you contact the listing agent on the property and they're willing to show you the home and give you the opportunity to purchase it, they've just proven that they're willing to lie to get a deal together.  They've used false advertising to build an artificial level of excitement with buyers.  What is going to keep them from lying again during the transaction?  They've given you a window into their ethical compass and have already proven they're willing to scam in order to put a deal together.  Do you really think they're going to put you first for some reason once you make the offer?

If it's truly not available for one reason or another, why are they marketing it?  Does it need repairs before it even hits the market?  Are there title issues?  Is it just a marketing ploy to try to get you to make an unwise decision?  Who knows, but can you imagine a scenario where a seller would choose to begin marketing their property even though they aren't ready to sell?  Under all the scenarios I could possibly come up with, it's not a beneficial situation for you, the buyer.

How about sellers?  Whey would they want to market a home as "Coming Soon"?  Some REALTORS will tell sellers that it will build a sense of urgency with buyers and they'll all pile up at once to make amazing offers over full price!  Good luck with that!  I recently pulled up every residential sale in Grand Traverse County between $100,00 and $300,000 for the past year to do some number crunching.  There were more than 1,200 sales in this segment over the past 12 months.  Of those, 94 closed within 30 days (basically under contract day one) and only 11 of those sold for more than full price.  Barely more than 10%.  If an agent, at least in this area and price range, suggests you'll get more than full price because of a fast sale, they're either lying or not educated on the local market.

And how about the idea of a quick sale?  For some seller's it's essential to sell right away and their REALTOR should certainly suggest a price that will achieve a quick sale.  But is that really the best way to get top dollar?  Supposedly build fast interest to maximize dollars?  Nope.  In crunching that same data, an interesting trend was seen.  I compared the days on market (DOM) to the average sales price.  Again, these are all homes in Grand Traverse County over the past year priced between $100,000 and $300,000 (our sweet spot basically).  The lowest average price was for homes that showed 0-15 days on the market.  Keep in mind, days on market is the time between entering it in the MLS and the actual closing.  It's pretty tough to close a bank deal in 30 days. Anything that shows 45 days or less on the market means the buyer was found likely within the first week or so or even before it hit the market.  30 days or less and it almost surely was sold before ever being exposed to the entire pool of possible buyers.

What's the point of all this?  There is simply no better way to sell a home than to market it well and expose it to as many possible buyers as you can.  You're looking for the buyer who sees value in more of your homes' features than others do.  By exposing it to the largest possible pool of buyers, you're more likely to find the one that will pay the most because it's the best fit for them.

Real estate is a serious profession.  We are entrusted with the largest financial decisions in most people's lives.  It deserves to be treated with that gravity.  If you are considering buying or selling real estate, I highly recommend you interview at least 3 agents.  One will almost certainly stand out as more knowledgeable, more genuine and a better fit for you personally than the others.  I'd suggest making sure one of those is a Homewaters Agent (I'm admittedly a bit partial).  Learn more about our company and our team of exceptional agents and brokers at www.homewaters.net.