I was talking to my real estate coach this morning and he was telling me that when he meets people to talk to them about their property he asks if they would prefer he be honest with them now, or honest with them later.

Bill is referring to the fact that in a slow market, people have a hard time understanding what their property is worth.  Most people think their property is worth more than it will sell for in today’s market because their neighbor sold their home a year ago for a certain price.

People usually list their house for a price it won’t sell, the agents know the home won’t sell, and then six months later – they will adjust the price to sell.

I have lost a lot of business being honest with people.  I recently met with some clients and told them what their house would sell for in today’s real estate market.  Another Realtor came in and told them that it would sell for 20% more.  They listed it with that Realtor because 20% more was a lot of money.  My client gave this Realtor a try and after six months they adjusted the price and it sold.

A lot of real estate training programs teach you as an agent to give people an inflated value of their home so they will list it with you and then you can get them to reduce the price later and earn your commission that way.  Personally, that has never been an option for me because my mother did not train me that way.

I would love to hear from you – should I be honest now, or honest later?