EVERY buyer fits into one of these three categories. I’ll start with the worst group: 

1. The Bargain Hunter—These types won’t even look at your listing until it’s been sitting for several weeks or months. Then they start tossing out low-ball offers to see how desperate you are. If you don’t bite, they don’t care—they’ll just fire a different low-ball at another listing.

How did you—as the seller—get there in the first place? There’s only one answer: You overpriced your home and didn’t react to the market, which was clearly telling you exactly that. If your agent isn’t explaining what the market is saying, you should terminate your listing and get a new agent. I’ll probably get in trouble for saying that. But I don’t care.

Now, here’s the best group:

2. The Current Buyer—This buyer was already looking before you listed. In fact, they’ve likely seen EVERY listing in their area and price range and haven’t found what they’re looking for yet. So what are they doing? Waiting for new listings!

As soon as your property hits the market, they rush out to see it. This is why—almost always—the faster you sell, the more money you get. Why? Because they know it’s new, and they want to lock it up before someone else does.

If you’ve presented it well and priced it accurately, this is the ideal scenario. You sell for top dollar with minimal hassle. Done.

However… there are sub-categories of Current Buyers. Here are the most common:

2A. The “Hot-to-Trot-Ready-to-Write” Current Buyer—The best kind. They’ve been out looking. They’re pre-approved. They’re ready to pounce as soon as the right listing pops up. If you’ve done everything right (including pricing), and there’s a 2A in the market, you’re gonna get a quick, hassle-free sale!

2B. The “Slow-and-Steady Cautious Buyer”—If you don’t get any 2A buyers, a 2B is almost as good. He likes what he sees but doesn’t rush. Maybe he runs the numbers, comes back for a second showing, then a third. But when he finally decides—it’s a done deal.

2C. The “Picky-McPickerson” Current Buyer—There’s always something wrong. They can’t get past the smallest imperfection—real or imagined. These buyers can take months—sometimes years—to buy anything. Curiously, when they finally do, it’s often something weird that nobody else wanted.

2D. The “Waiting-for-a-Frickin-Miracle” Current Buyer—Thinks your house is $150K overpriced. Then again, he thinks EVERY house is overpriced. In reality, he’s just a variation of “Picky-McPickerson”—expecting perfection at 2018 prices. These buyers never pull the trigger and burn through Realtors like underwear.

There are plenty of other Current Buyer subtypes, but these (above) are the main ones.

3. The New Buyer—If you don’t get traction from a 2A or 2B, you’re essentially waiting for New Buyers to enter the market. Note: A New Buyer isn’t necessarily a first-time buyer—they’re simply entering the market sometime after your home is listed.

Here’s an important point: If you don’t sell to a Current Buyer, it doesn’t mean you’ve done anything wrong! It’s entirely possible that at the time of your listing, there simply weren’t any 2A or 2B buyers in your price range and area. This happens all the time. And it’s impossible to know until after you’ve listed your property.

Is this more stressful? Absolutely. But you can’t create buyers who don’t exist. The only option is to stay patient and wait for New Buyers to show up.

It’s critical that your Realtor thoroughly understands all this and doesn’t give you bad advice—like dropping your price immediately after listing just because it didn’t sell right away.

Could that be the right move? Maybe. But not necessarily.

The bottom line: You need a Realtor with the experience and judgement to read the market—and know what advice to give, and when.

Until next month.