Helping or Hurting??? Why are Agent Scared to show Short Sale Listings?

As a New Jersey Broker that does not shy away from a challenge; I find it rewarding when I help someone buy or sale a home no matter where its located because it brings me great joy and its also the moment when I get paid…he he Now around 4 years ago I made a decision to not only work with regular equity sales but to also work in the distressed property market and thankfully I have helped many home owners avoid foreclosure by means of a short sale or DIL.

But I have found a trend in my area where Agents are either not sending Short Sales to their clients or buyers are just uneducated on Short Sales and are avoiding them all together.

In New Jersey Short Sales are increasing daily and hitting the market in record numbers but I am finding that more and more buyers are being shut out from their potential dream homes because some agents are choosing for them that the short sale purchase is not the best route to go down.

Why do I say that you ask? here’s my story…

I hosted ana few weeks ago and had 13 people come out to see the property (a GOOD day right?) well I found it to be a success, especially in today’s market. Now the funny part about that is, I ask everyone who comes into the house (as part of our policy) to sign in and apart of signing in, is stating how you found out about the Open house (Internet, mailing, agent etc…) and 4 out of those 13 told me that they saw it online and wanted to see it, but their Agent did not send it to them. Quick disclaimer: I also make it a policy not to discuss the good or bad practices of another Agent because it doesn’t help any of us at the end of the day, so I just retain the info and write a blog about it later.

But I do find it a little weird that Agents are not showing their clients all that the market has to offer because of one reason or another. I wonder why? I know that in my area I am known for being pretty savvy as a Short Sale listing Agent; but is it me? is it the Short Sale stigma? or is it just the house itself? what could it be? I am no fool and I understand that some agents have Short Sale listings and do not have clue on what it takes to get it closed so I can understand that completely. I am especially curious because how could the Agents deselect the home and the buyer still make their own way to it just so they could see it, something may be wrong here.

Some Agents/Buyers fail to understand the short sale process and choose to skip over Short Sale listing because of lengthy time lines, cut commissions or issues that may arise that could prevent the home from closing, but lets be honest; things happen on most sales and is it right for the Agent to choose? I cannot answer that because as a Short Sale Listing agent I am somewhat bias to those types of listings but I wanted to see how others felt about it.

The question still remains; whose decision is it to show a certain house over the other? is it the Agent or is the Buyer? I will admit that I comb through listings in hopes of selecting some top prospects for my clients; but I do not deselect homes because of its status or the commission that is being paid, In my opinion I feel that I am over stepping my boundaries, what do you think?