Big Loss For The BIg Unit - Why Brag About It?

Randy Johnson, the Hall of Fame pitcher (known as The Big Unit), just had his mansion sell at auction for $7.3 million dollars. While commanding that much for a mansion of that magnitude normally commands media attention, this one actually got the attention for the wrong reason.

It seems that this 25,000 square foot home which sat on five acres at the base of Mummy Mountain in Paradise Valley, had no takers last fall when the price was reportedly reduced to $16.5 million. The auction of this property resulted in a purchase price which was less than half of the listing price following a price reduction of more than $3 million.

What does this have to do with real estate marketing?

Unfortunately, there is an answer to this question. Had this story appeared as a result of investigation by a reporter, that would be one thing. News which is not positive gets published, especially in the age of social media and fewer secrets.

However, this information got out because of a Press Release issued by the agent team of the real estate firm which had the listing. Say what?

While looking to make news to promote the sale of a multi-million dollar property is understandable, that is far from the case here.

In real estate marketing, the adage that "any publicity is good publicity" does not apply.

This agent just told owners of the mansions in this area that his firm couldn't even sell a listing they voluntarily took for half of the price. Worse yet, this additional publicity could wind up costing nearby property owners millions in lost revenue if they decide or need to sell in the near future because of how this damages local comps.

At the same time, it's hard to imagine a potential seller looking to work with this listing agent in the near future based on this result. There is more to it than getting less than half of the price. It shows a savvy seller that this agent team accepts listings which are not priced correctly.

Adding to the mix is that the sale of this mansion was the result of bidding at auction, and not even a negotiation involving the agent and/or his team.

How an agent (or agent team) markets their listings and how they market themselves are ideally tied together.

Bragging about a failed listing, especially one of this magnitude, is poor marketing.

http://ktar.com/story/2420825/sold-randy-johnsons-paradise-valley-home-goes-for-7-3m-at-auction/