The fear of real estate exclusivity
It is important to neutralise this fear, to explain the problems that may arise and to understand which interest is prioritised in each case: that of the seller or that of the agency?
On a Friday of any month of any year...
- Pepe, pass me a cupcake please.
- You're going to put on weight, Carlitos, you're getting on in years... And to top it all off, you'll want a drink...
- And if he doesn't want it, put one in for me. You know, a cold Courvoisier.
- I had planned it, Jaime... what would our dinners be without your delicacies...
The three friends had gathered as they had done every last Friday of the month for more than thirty years. As usual, after supper, they sat in the drawing-room sipping a glass or two of their favourite liqueur while they set the world to rights or discussed the meaning of life, subjects which at their age gave them plenty of scope. On this occasion, however, the host took the floor and said:
- Darlings, today I want to tell you that this dinner was the last one in this house. I am going to sell it.
- I don't believe it! You've been here for over forty years. I guess, Pepe, it's because of...
- That's right, Carlos. I can't bear to go on living in the same spaces that I loved so much with my Lucia... No matter how hard I try, I can't turn over a new leaf, so I've decided to sell this house and start again, far away, maybe at the beach or in the mountains...
Jaime looked at him quietly, but when the emotion subsided a little, he broke the silence:
- Have you thought about how to sell it?
- Yes, I have called four or five agencies and I have arranged to meet them here at home next Saturday to explain my conditions and offer them the sale.
- You mean you are going to sell this house to several agencies at the same time?
- Yes Jaime, yes, no exclusives, let the best man sell it!
- Pepe, you're totally stupid. You know I say this with all my affection, but I can't believe what you are saying.
- Selling it exclusively? No way! Astonished is he who entrusts the exclusive sale of his house to a single agency that does nothing more than place an advertisement on every real estate portal and keeps him distracted for months because he knows he has no competition. It is the one who does not believe that the healthiest thing in the liberal economy is competition.
- Let me finish this first drink, pour me the second and I'll tell you why you are so wrong and confuse competence with efficiency.
The healthiest thing in the liberal economy is competition. But competition should not be confused with efficiency.
While Jaime and Pepe were arguing about the advantages and disadvantages of exclusive real estate brokerageCarlos had already had his first Courvoisier and was attacking the second. The three of them became melancholic, reflecting on the surprise news of the sale of the house where they had had such a good time. Jaime, resumed the conversation:
- You say competition and you say it well, because that's what you're going to get. The four agencies are going to compete to be the first to sell, regardless of price, time and quality of the visits that they are going to drag, literally, through these beautiful danta floorboards that are no longer made and contaminate each of the corners that you built in your daily life. And they will touch that frame and open those cupboards or your desk drawers and in the vast majority of cases they will be nothing more than property tourists looking for a way to spend that Saturday afternoon.
- Fuck, Jaime, how exaggerated you are! -said Carlos, preventing Pepe from answering and making it easier for Jaime to continue.
- I'm not exaggerating - can you determine how many people will actually be interested and able to buy a house like this?
- Of course not.
- Let's make a hypothesis: let's suppose that there are 18 of you. These 18 people will search on real estate portals such as Idealista, Fotocasa and others for a house with the same characteristics as yours. Right, Pepe?
- I suppose so.
- Now, if you had hired only one exclusive agency to advertise your house on these portals, how many of these people will see it and ask for a viewing?
- Well 18.
- That's right. Now, with your brilliant idea of making estate agents compete for you, let's say they all advertise your house on these same portals. How many really interested people will see the ad and ask to see it?
- Same 18.
- Exactly! It doesn't increase the number! When you don't give the sale of your house exclusively to an agency, inefficient competition begins, which only harms you. The exclusive sale is a sale with commitment. Next, allow me to take a moment to tell you about the various problems that occur when you sell your house to several estate agents at the same time.
Problems of not working exclusively with a real estate agency
- The appointments will coincide (bad thing) or you will have to organise a complex agenda to fit in those 18 visits. Not to mention the visits from real estate tourists that the agencies will not filter because "you never know".
- There will be no uniform visit history to analyse the pros and cons of each of those 18 stakeholders. Impossible to create a proper sales, follow-up and persuasion strategy.
- Aiming to be the first to sell, the agencies will push for low offers.
- Buyers can play the game of visiting several agencies and negotiating different lowball offers looking for the crack.
In exclusive sales, the focus is on selling at the best price in the shortest possible time, always prioritising the interests of the seller. When marketing is carried out by several agencies, the focus is on being the first to sell, leaving the seller's interests in the background.
Jaime, seeing his friend Pepe's face, suddenly shut up and said that before going on to talk about other things, he wanted to ask him one last question. Pepe nodded and Carlos remained expectant while Jaime, with his Cuban cigar half lit, continued with his usual vehemence.
- You, Pepe, are a lawyer, you were a brilliant criminal lawyer. What would you have thought if a client had summoned you and three other colleagues to compete in the defence of a case? Remember, Pepe, when you used to say that the first thing to do before starting a case is to "make an exhaustive report that costs a fortune"? You, Carlos, are a doctor, you were a famous cardiovascular surgeon. What would you have thought if a client had summoned you and three other colleagues to diagnose and cure him of his illness? Carlos, what was your favourite phrase about interconsultations? I remember it: "One doctor cures, two doctors doubt and three doctors die for sure". I know, I know it's not the same thing, but in a certain sense it is.
You have a beautiful house. A beautiful house with many charms. Find yourself, I can help you, an agency that treats its properties with care, that establishes links of affinity with you and with what you want and trust it to know how to manage those 18 visits of interested parties and get someone who will surely know how to give continuity to your experiences. Believe me, dear friend!
The evening went in a different direction, but Pepe had already decided that, as in all good business, the priority is to find the partner, the friend, the professional who is able to achieve your goals along with theirs.. I had always done so and I would do so now.
The next morning, after breakfast, he cancelled the appointments he had made and called the agency for beautiful homes Jaime had told him about before he left.
