At the highest level, there are only three things that effect the process of obtaining a signed sales agreement for a residential or condominum style home.  They are 1) PRICE 2) PRESENTATION AND 3) EXPOSURE.  You have to look at these factors from a global perspective and understand that all activity, short of negotiating the contract, fits into one of these three categories.  Today I want to talk about price, moreover what to do when a seller insists on pricing the home higher than what is realistic for the current market.  Many times it can be a mistake to take this kind of listing.  When the seller insists on pricing the property above the market it often turns out to be a total waste of time for everyone and a significant waste of money for the Agent and Broker who put out dollars for advertising, signage, color fliers, post cards, staging and fancy hors d'oeu⋅vre and wine parties.  On the other hand I see every listing as an opportunity to make something positive happen.  I do very well with people who meet me face to face and a listing, even one that is overpriced, increases the likelihood of connecting with a buyer or another seller.  Ann Arbor real estate is no walk in the park.  I have to compete with dozens of big-name agents who racked up millions and millions of residential home sales before I even took my pre-license training.  One of the major benefits of working with a Prudential Broker (Prudential Snyder & Company in Ann Arbor, Michigan) and an excellent way of differentiating our company is the On-line Seller's Advantage program.  This program is like sending the seller a CMA everyday based on real time date.  The system notifies sellers of how much Internet traffic their property is getting on sites such as Trulia, Zillow, Front Door, Oodle, Yahoo Real Estate, Cyber Homes and of course Prudential Real Estate.  They are told how many times their home was returned in the search results and how often the detailed listing was viewed.  They even know if buyers are saving their property to a personal portfolio. It also shows the specific homes that are competing for buyers based on a profile I establish.  When emails are received by the seller they are professionally branded with Prudential, the individual Broker and the listing Agent's contact information.  Unlike alerts that come through the MLS, OSA emails show the competing homes on a map view and the client can click on any one of them to see the full details of the listing.  When the client sees that other competing homes are progressing to Pending and Sold status, often they call me to suggest a price reduction.  Don't get me wrong about working hard even when the property is overpriced.  I give 100% effort to listings regardless of the seller's misconceptions about the market.  In the meantime, however I am busy prospecting and using the subject listing as a chance to build synergy with other sellers.  If the house sits on the market for a long time I can then use the experience (without revealing any confidential client information) as an example of what not to do.  I make a practice of getting feedback from every showing and I plot the showing activity on an Excel Spreadsheet.  Doing this involves extra work for me but it gives the seller factual information not just my gut level opinion.  I find that most sellers are pretty reasonable when you give then honest and relavent information about the market and where other homes are selling.  I never create a situation where the seller is made to feel like they were unrealsitic or that there was something wrong with their beloved home.  There just may be a silver lining to an overpriced listing afterall, as long as the agent is willing to go the extra mile and do the right thing to accomplish the clients objectives.