Is it a coincidence that real estate and regret and remorse all start the same, are they related? Regret is a big part of the business of real estate.
For me as an agent it is every day. Did I say the right thing, did I do the right thing, should I have gone to that appointment?
This business is so fraught with minefields, two weeks ago I was texting back and forth with a seller about listing her home and how great the market is, all was going well until we got to price. I went over the listing process, all by text then told her a number which is a number she had mentioned in past conversations and boom she stopped communicating, three years of discussions done. My regret I should not have texted the listing price should have insisted on a call to create a discussion.
For buyers it can be winning and losing. For offers I have written and consulted on, so many this year have not only not gotten accepted they have not gotten even a counteroffer. The regret was so awful I should have told them to go higher, given up more in price, timelines, and terms. Yet I did not want them to pay higher or give up terms. My regret was I did not encourage them enough to understand a higher price or better terms would give them a better chance.
For buyers regrets are typically remorse just in the beginning of the purchasing process, they dutifully get pre-approved and most often get given a price range. They start at their lower range and quickly discover that the market is moving fast and price and offer terms are brutal. They make a few offers and get beat up, they get back up and decide they will bid higher and give up more. And the market gods bestow them with an accepted offer, and remorse rears it’s ugly head ands says you paid too much.
For Sellers regret is often selling at the wrong time, I have a gal I call occasionally, to say Hi, she is always friendly and eager to hear about the market. The call will not end until she tells me how much she regrets her last home. She wishes she had not sold it and cannot let go. I looked up the property once it was way too much house for her, she is in a good location now.
Regret and remorse are a daily reminder that real estate has its ups and downs, and we have to take the hits and the misses and keep moving. Ultimately buyers settle in the forget all about the price and settle in, sellers also learn to love their new home and understand what was best in the moment.
And as for me I take every hit and miss to heart and learn from each one to be the best I can.