A home is likely the most expensive item we will ever purchase in our lives and selling that home is a major life event. It can create an emotional and psychological void that inhibits rational reasoning. Leaving a home is a psychological process that a seller must come to terms with well before signing the offer. As Realtors we are tasked with managing this process on a daily basis with our sellers, but are we telling these people what they want to hear rather than what they should hear at such an emotional crossroads in their lives? Furthermore, as listing agents, are we really supporting their psychological needs and expectations in preparation for them to accept a price on their home that will cause it to sell?

Our buyer pool has changed dramatically over the last generation. We have a new generation of buyers who see the purchase of a home as nothing more than an interim investment in their lives, not the achievement of a lifetime. We now live in an age of technologically equipped buyers who are more informed than ever before but at the same time are more financially restricted than their predecessors. As a result, they are more reluctant to commit and more likely to walk away from a deal unless they feel they have something of real value in their hand. Value of course, is in the eye of the beholder, which in this case is the buyer, not the seller, and nobody can predict how a buyer will pre-determine value.

Sadly many of our sellers face the prospect of selling their homes today under the misguided expectation that buyers will love their home as much as they do and will immediately see the value in what they have to offer. As Realtors we know this is not the case. Very often sellers feel insulted by would-be buyers’ comments and low-ball offers that buyers make because they are trying to get a ‘great deal.’

We all strive to be the professional information source buyers expect and indeed demand. We readily accept this task without question and work tirelessly to educate them on all levels of the purchase procedure. However, I question whether the same level of information and education has been passed to the sellers by listing agents in order to prepare them for working with our new generation of buyers. Psychologically buyers and sellers in today’s market are not magnetically drawn together and actually repel rather than attract, though their needs and wants appear to be aligned; they are the in fact the furthest apart they have ever been. Preparation has always been the key to eventual success and real estate is no exception to that rule. In order to achieve a successful common goal the level of knowledge and understanding must be equal on both sides, otherwise a ‘meeting of the minds’ is impossible.

Buyers and sellers interpret value from two very different perspectives but that does not mean that there cannot be a meeting of the minds in regard to the common goal of all parties involved. By educating and preparing the seller we are creating a level playing field on which to present a property to a potential buyer. We are providing counsel ahead of the play and setting expectations that will be readily accepted rather than dismissed or negatively received. With this philosophy we are developing a conditioned partnership between Realtor and seller in order to realistically list the property at a price that will not only cause it to sell, but will entice a potential buyer to see the real value of the deal in hand. Fair market value is what a buyer is willing to pay and a seller is willing to accept. Ultimate success results in a in a “win win” situation for both parties.

Carolyn Lyne PhD Edu. BSc., MA is a licensed N.C. Realtor and director of training and development

At Coldwell Banker Coastal Rivers Realty.