Blame the Price, Not the Realtor

In his answer to the question of whether open houses sell homes, (“Real Estate Q&A;,” Feb. 15) Robert J. Bruss writes, “If your home doesn’t bring offers within the first 30 to 60 days, that’s the time to push your agent to improve her marketing.”

I am a real estate agent and I feel Bruss is misleading the public into believing that the sole reason for a property not selling has to do with the agent’s poor marketing strategy.

He does not mention the fact that if the property is overpriced, no amount of advertising, open houses, skywriting or prime-time television commercials will bring in an offer.

Most of the buyers will come from other Realtors showing the home, and other Realtors will know about the home from the Multiple Listing Service and not the ads or open houses. I agree that there are some agents who give our profession a bad name, but in this recent market, where multiple offers and sales at higher than listing price are a daily occurrence, there is usually only one reason a property sits on the market without selling. It’s overpriced.

RICK FIELDS

Fred Sands Realtors

Studio City