Real Estate Lessons from Indiana Jones

[Catherine Pabatao]

Many who managed to sell their homes for top dollar just before the crash, have serious flashbacks when they watch the rolling boulder scene in “Raiders of the Lost Ark”. This iconic movie has a couple of scenes that work well to symbolize real estate activities.

The next would be when they open the container with the ark. The nasty little villain is enchanted by this beautiful spirit swooping around him. Then suddenly it’s true demonic self shows through and the villain’s face melts just before his head explodes. And this relates to real estate how?

Pricing real estate is the answer. Sellers can get enchanted with the dreamy prospect of how much they think they can sell their home for. This is just as true with individual home sellers as with developers. The individual home seller often says, “I know my neighbor’s home, which is just like mine, sold for $400,000 last year but I spent $30,000 improving my home so my home should sell for $430,000”.

Developers may say, “I invested this much into this home and I need this much profit, so this is the price for the home”. These 2 sellers are mesmerized by the beautiful spirit swooping around them and soon the true market conditions will unmask the beautiful spirit, and their faces will melt and their heads will explode. Well maybe not, but they’re not going to be happy.

There are a lot of resources to get an idea of market conditions and market pricing and this can be beneficial for purposes of discussion with real estate marketing professionals. But please trust the realtor of your choice, doesn’t hurt to push a little, suggest or even challenge but at the end of the process, please let them do their job and get the best price that the market will allow. The market is boss, work with and listen to a realtor who understands and interprets the market well.

Indiana Jones and Marion didn’t let themselves look at the swooping spirits and they lived for another day.