Mike Browning

Tag: Pricing Strategy

  • Never Ask a Barber If You Need a Haircut

    Never Ask a Barber If You Need a Haircut

    And be careful asking a real estate agent if it’s a good time to sell.

    You already know how agents get paid.
    Property sells, they get a commission. If it doesn’t, they don’t.

    That part isn’t confusing.

    What people don’t always think through is what that does to the conversation before anything sells.

    Most brokers give out information upfront.
    Valuations, pricing opinions, strategy.

    I do it too.

    It looks free, and in a narrow sense it is. You’re not writing a check for it.

    But it’s not neutral.

    If someone only gets paid when something sells, their advice is going to lean that way. Not because they’re lying. Because that’s how the structure works.

    List it.
    Price it.
    Get it done.

    You’ll hear about timing, positioning, exposure. A lot of that is right.

    What you won’t hear as much about is doing nothing. Holding. Waiting. Changing the plan in a way that doesn’t lead to a quick transaction.

    Those paths don’t pay.

    So they don’t get the same attention.

    That doesn’t make the broker bad. It just means you should understand what’s driving the advice.

    In my case, I’m in the same model. I get paid when something sells.

    But I’m not in a position where every conversation has to end there. I can tell someone to sit still when that’s the better move.

    A lot of brokers can’t.

    If the only path someone lays out for you ends in a listing, it’s worth noticing.

    Not arguing. Not accusing.

    Just noticing.

    And asking yourself one question.

    Would this still make sense if I didn’t sell?

    PS – Most landowners aren’t planning to sell today.
    But situations change, and when they do, the people who already understand their position tend to make better decisions.

    That’s what the MBR Land Reality Check is for.
    It looks at nearby sales, current listings, development pressure, and the details that don’t show up in a quick search.

    Is it a bad idea to know where things stand?

    Get Yours Here

    PPS – If you’re not ready for that but like reading about land, markets, and negotiation, you can sign up below and get these in your inbox.

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  • “We Thought It Might Never Sell”

    “We Thought It Might Never Sell”

    If you’re going to insist on predicting the future, you might as well be optimistic.

    A lot of landowners quietly assume the same thing. This property probably isn’t going to sell.

    So they don’t even try.

    Maybe it’s been sitting for years. Maybe there hasn’t been much activity nearby. Sometimes it just feels like one of those properties that never quite moves, so it sits there year after year.

    In most cases, it’s not because there’s no demand. It’s because the property isn’t positioned in a way that lets demand find it.

    I’ve watched this happen enough times that it’s hard to miss. The price is off just enough to keep serious buyers away. The right buyers never see it. Or it’s presented in a way that doesn’t give anyone a reason to act. Nothing dramatic, just enough friction to keep it stuck.

    There’s another pattern that shows up too. A property sits, looks dead, nothing happening. Then it gets repositioned and all of a sudden there’s movement. Sometimes fast.

    Not always. But often enough that it’s not random.

    I’ve seen this happen many times.

    In one case, a property owner had a lot they believed might never sell.

    Here’s how they described it:

    “Mike contacted us about a lot we owned, which we thought might never sell. We listed with Mike, and the property SOLD in just three weeks! We could not be happier!”

    There’s nothing unusual about that outcome. But it’s not guaranteed, and that’s not the point.

    The point is the property didn’t change. The positioning did.

    Most people focus on the dirt itself. Location, size, what’s around it. That matters, but it’s usually not the deciding factor.

    How it’s brought to market matters just as much, sometimes more. That part is controllable.

    If you’ve got something that’s been sitting, it’s worth asking whether it’s actually unsellable, or just stuck the way it’s currently being presented.

    Most of the time, it’s the second one.

    PS- Most landowners are not planning to sell today.

    But when the time comes, the people who already understand how their property fits into the market tend to have a much easier time.

    That’s what the MBR Land Reality Check is for. It looks at nearby sales, current listings, and the details that affect whether something actually moves.

    Is it a bad idea to know where things stand?

    Get Yours Here

    PPS- If you’re not ready for that but like reading about land, markets, and negotiation, you can sign up below and get these posts in your inbox.

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  • Everyone’s An Optimist, At Least For Today

    Everyone’s An Optimist, At Least For Today

    But reality will set in soon enough, and the smart folks will adjust.

    Opening day of baseball season. Technically the first game was last night, but for most teams, today is when it starts.

    A lot of people find baseball boring, but this is one of my favorite days of the year. A couple of years ago, the Rangers won the World Series. It hasn’t gone great since, but for today at least, everyone has some level of hope.

    Teams operate with a plan. They build a roster to fill the holes from last year. The goal is simple. Score more runs. Give up fewer. While it’s all playing out, you’ll hear the usual lines about doing the little things, having a strong culture, and taking it one game at a time.

    You’ll also hear a lot about how much teams value defense. Meanwhile, if a guy can hit, he’s going in the lineup ahead of the great fielder who can’t, every time.

    They all talk a good game, but what they say doesn’t always line up with their actual plan. You have to watch what they do, not what they say.

    Otherwise you might start thinking they don’t have a plan. But they do.

    But like Mike Tyson said, everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth.

    You’ve got 26 guys on the roster. There will probably be an injury in the first week. Hopefully not, but it happens, and it usually happens to someone you were counting on.

    Some players don’t perform the way you expect. Others you barely thought about end up carrying more of the load than they were ever supposed to. You don’t really know until you play the games, and once you start, the plan starts changing whether you like it or not.

    That’s where patience comes in. You don’t want to overreact too early, but doing nothing isn’t the same as being patient.

    It’s the same in business.

    I know how to value a property. I know what should happen based on the market in front of it.

    The market doesn’t care.

    I’ve got a listing right now that’s priced where it needs to be. I’ve shared it with a number of agents who handle similar properties, and I haven’t gotten a single objection to the price, which if you’ve been around long enough, tells you something.

    Price is usually the first thing agents go after, even when it’s not the real problem.

    So I’m not chasing price.

    Part of it is just the nature of higher-end land. Fewer buyers. Every tract is a little different. It can take time to line up the right one.

    But if something isn’t happening, something is off. Maybe not the number. Could be exposure. Could be positioning. Could be that the right buyer hasn’t seen it yet.

    Most people default to cutting price because it feels like action. It usually isn’t.

    It’s also the one move that’s hardest to undo once you’ve made it.

    So we adjust, just not there yet. We’ll change the marketing, change the exposure, and see what that produces before touching the number.

    Plan A hasn’t worked so far.

    That tells you something.

    P.S. – Most landowners aren’t planning to sell today.

    But things change. Timing shifts, priorities change, or an opportunity shows up and you have to make a decision quicker than you expected.

    The ones who already understand their market tend to handle that better.

    That’s what the MBR Land Reality Check is for. It looks at nearby sales, current listings, and the details that actually move value, not just what people hope something is worth.

    Is it a bad idea to know where you stand?

    Get Yours Here

    P.P.S. – If you’re not looking for numbers right now but you like seeing how this stuff actually plays out, you can sign up below and get these posts when I send them. Or just check back when you feel like it.

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  • Compromising Positions

    Compromising Positions

    Splitting the difference sounds good but it usually isn’t the answer.

    People are taught from childhood that compromise is the fair solution.

    If two people want different things, you split the difference. Everyone gives a little. Everyone walks away happy.

    That sounds reasonable. But sometimes the “fair” compromise is actually ridiculous.

    Some of them I can’t repeat here.

    There’s an old story in the First Book of Kings about two women claiming the same baby. They brought the dispute to King Solomon.

    Solomon proposed a solution, cut the baby in half and give each woman a piece.

    Of course he didn’t really intend for that to happen. The point was to expose the flaw in the idea that every dispute has a reasonable middle. Some problems cannot be solved by compromise.

    One woman immediately begged him to give the child to the other. Which revealed who the real mother was.

    The point was clarity.

    Some things don’t have a middle that works. Negotiation runs into this problem all the time.

    People assume that splitting the difference automatically produces a fair agreement. But compromise often just glues two incompatible ideas together.

    Think about a simple example.

    A landowner wants $1.5 million for a tract.
    A buyer wants to pay $1.3 million.

    Someone suggests the obvious solution.

    Split the difference at $1.4 million.

    On paper that looks fair. Each side moved the same amount.

    But fairness on paper doesn’t mean the deal actually works.

    Maybe the buyer’s financing only supports $1.3 million.
    Maybe the seller needs $1.45 million to justify selling.
    Maybe the timing or tax consequences change the math.

    In those situations, splitting the difference doesn’t solve the problem. It just produces a number that satisfies neither side.

    This is why experienced negotiators spend less time looking for the middle and more time understanding what each side actually values.

    Sometimes the right solution isn’t halfway between two positions.

    Sometimes the right solution is something different entirely.

    And sometimes the right solution is realizing there isn’t a deal at all.

    P.S. To know whether there’s a deal or not, you need the most current market information.

    You’re probably not even considering selling today. But things can change quickly. The best time to start gathering information is well before you actually need it.

    That’s what the MBR Land Reality Check is for. Clear-eyed analysis using actual sales and decades of experience in land brokerage.

    It’s free (for now). No obligation. And never any pressure to list.

    Would it be a bad idea to just see where things stand?

    Request Yours Here

    P.P.S. If you’re not ready for a Reality Check but liked reading this, you can get posts like this in your inbox below. Usually daily.

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  • Good Enough Beats Perfect in the Real World

    Good Enough Beats Perfect in the Real World

    Because perfect never shows up.

    A lot of people think the goal is to get things perfect.

    Perfect pricing. Perfect marketing. Perfect timing.

    So they wait.

    They revise copy. Adjust the marketing plan. Debate the price another week. It feels responsible. Like they’re doing the work required to get the outcome right.

    Meanwhile the market is moving.

    A buyer who studies listings for six months learns almost nothing. A buyer who makes five offers learns the market very quickly.

    A seller who debates pricing for months gets zero feedback. A seller who lists the property gets reactions immediately.

    Action produces information. Thinking usually doesn’t.

    The market is the only place where learning happens.

    Until something is live, it’s all theory.

    Theory feels safe because it hasn’t been tested yet. A draft can still be perfect. Once the market sees it, that illusion disappears pretty quickly.

    Most deals that actually happen don’t start perfect. They start good enough.

    Then the feedback starts.

    Buyers react. Sellers react. The numbers tighten up. Reality replaces the guesses.

    People who wait for perfect usually watch someone else close the deal.

    Good enough goes to market.

    Perfect stays in a draft folder.

    P.S. If you own land in North Texas and want to know where you actually stand in today’s market, I offer the MBR Land Reality Check. No pressure. Just a clear look at what nearby properties are selling for and how buyers are behaving right now.

    Get the MBR Land Reality Check here.

    P.P.S. If you like thinking about land, negotiation, and how these deals really work, you can keep reading here or get the posts by email so they show up automatically.

    Sign up here.

  • Why “Full Transparency” Is Often Bad Advice

    Why “Full Transparency” Is Often Bad Advice

    Honesty and strategy are not the same thing.

    “Full transparency” sounds virtuous.
    It sounds ethical.
    It sounds like something a professional should offer.

    And in the abstract, it feels right.

    But in real negotiations, especially in real estate, it is often terrible advice.

    Not because honesty does not matter.
    It does.

    But because transparency is not the same thing as honesty.

    Honesty means not lying.
    Transparency means volunteering information.

    Those are very different standards.

    A seller can be completely honest without disclosing every thought, pressure point, or internal debate.

    In fact, that restraint is usually what protects their outcome.

    Problems start when agents confuse being helpful with being transparent.

    They start explaining things that do not need explaining.
    They start sharing context that was never requested.
    They start narrating the deal instead of managing it.

    “I just want to be upfront.”
    “I believe in full transparency.”
    “I don’t want there to be any surprises.”

    Those phrases sound good. They feel professional. And they regularly cost clients money.

    The market does not reward openness.
    It rewards leverage.

    Buyers do not pay more because you were candid.
    They pay more when they believe alternatives exist and pressure does not.

    Once motivation is disclosed, it cannot be undisclosed.
    Once flexibility is revealed, it becomes the floor.
    Once urgency is admitted, time stops working for you.

    And no amount of goodwill puts that leverage back.

    Good representation is not about hiding things.
    It is about controlling timing.

    What gets said.
    When it gets said.
    And whether it needed to be said at all.

    Most sellers assume their agent understands this instinctively.
    Many do not.

    They believe being liked is the same as being trusted.
    They believe cooperation creates value.
    They believe transparency speeds things up.

    Sometimes it does.
    Usually it just cheapens the result.

    A professional agent knows the difference between truth and disclosure.
    Between ethics and exposure.
    Between serving the deal and serving the client.

    That difference rarely shows up in marketing.
    But it shows up clearly at the closing table.

    PS – If you own land or acreage and want a clear, no-obligation opinion of value, I offer a free analysis based on real comps and actual market experience.

    No algorithms. No guesswork. No pressure.

    You will know where you stand today and what realistic options actually look like.

    You probably are not even thinking about selling right now. Is it a bad idea to have that clarity before you need it?

    You can get started here

    PPS – If this resonated, feel free to forward it to someone who might need to hear it.

  • The Market Doesn’t Care What You “Need” It to Be

    The Market Doesn’t Care What You “Need” It to Be

    It’s not personal. It’s just the truth.

    It’s the single biggest reason sellers feel disappointed: they confuse personal math with market math.

    You might want a certain number for completely reasonable reasons:

    • To pay off debt
    • To match what your neighbor got
    • To “at least break even”
    • To fund something else
    • Or because that’s what you planned on getting

    But the market doesn’t ask for your spreadsheet.
    It doesn’t account for sunk cost, family history, or fairness.

    It prices based on what a willing buyer will pay today.
    And ignoring that doesn’t punish the market. It punishes the seller.

    I see it all the time:
    A seller insists on a number because they “need” it.
    Buyers pass.
    Time drags on.
    Other listings get seen.
    Leverage slips.
    Then after months of silence, a real offer finally comes in…
    but it’s lower than it could have been if they’d priced right from the start.

    This isn’t about being cold. It’s about being smart.

    You can absolutely hope for a stronger offer.
    You can wait if the current market doesn’t align with your goals, especially if you’re not living on the land.

    But if selling now would help you accomplish something — lighten your load, free up capital, simplify your estate, close a chapter —
    then the real number is the one worth understanding.

    Realism doesn’t eliminate regret. But it usually reduces it.
    Because unlike optimism, realism leaves you with clarity, clean decisions, and forward movement.

    The market doesn’t argue with you.
    It just waits.

    If you’ve got lots or acreage and want a clear, no-fluff look at where things stand, that’s what I do.

    Not a sales pitch. Just a decision tool.

    Click Here For Lots

    Click Here For Acreage

  • Less Wasted Effort = Better Results

    Less Wasted Effort = Better Results

    Gene Simmons has tried it both ways, and says lean and mean is better.

    If you read anything about rock music these days, you’ll hear a lot of complaining.

    Newer bands say touring is too expensive. Older, established bands say the same thing. Fuel costs. Crews. Trucks. Hotels. Supposedly, nobody can make money anymore.

    Meanwhile, Gene Simmons, the founder and longtime bassist of KISS, is out touring with the Gene Simmons Band and claims he’s making more money now than he did back then.

    I don’t know how accurate that is. But I do know why he appears to be succeeding where others aren’t.

    He’s doing it differently.

    He travels with just his band and their instruments. That’s it. The promoter handles everything else. Sound system. Lighting. Accommodations. Ticketing. Security. Food and beverage.

    It’s simpler. It’s leaner. And it pushes a lot of cost and complexity off his plate.

    I have no idea whether he’s truly making more than he did with KISS. That part sounds questionable. But knowing Gene Simmons, he wouldn’t be doing it if it didn’t make money.

    So what does this have to do with real estate?

    Not a ton. But there’s a parallel.

    Over the years, I’ve built a pretty tight system for marketing land and lots. It didn’t come from theory, courses, or copying what other agents say they do.

    It came from testing things in the real world and paying attention to what actually works.

    I don’t charge sellers for a bunch of stuff that sounds impressive but produces nothing.

    I experiment. If something works, I keep it. If it doesn’t, it’s gone. I don’t throw the kitchen sink at a listing just to look busy or smart. And I don’t pretend complexity equals competence.

    Simple systems. Fewer moving parts. Money spent where it matters.

    Gene Simmons brings what matters, charges accordingly, and doesn’t waste effort where it isn’t necessary.

    That approach works in music. It works in business. And it works in real estate.

    If you want someone who’s already done the experimenting and trimmed the fat, you know how to reach me.

    Get More Here!

    PS- You’re probably not ready to buy or sell land today. And that’s fine.
    The time to prepare for anything is long before it’s actually time.

    I offer a free, no-obligation analysis on any non-residential property. It includes real comps with real prices near your tract, along with things like planned development, utilities, and current market conditions.

    Even if you’re not ready to sell, or never plan to sell, having current market information doesn’t hurt.

    And in the process, you’ll get to know someone who focuses only on things that actually help. Not a pile of extras designed to look impressive.

    Can anything bad happen by just talking?

    Click Below:

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    Get a FREE, no obligation report on what it could sell for today.
    Get Your Lot Valuation

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    Get a report for that here:
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  • Don’t Be Afraid to Scare the Cheapskates

    Don’t Be Afraid to Scare the Cheapskates

    You’re not selling to everyone. Especially not the cheap ones.

    If you spend any time studying negotiation, you’ll run into the concept of anchoring quickly.

    Here’s a quick explanation. Humans are not great at evaluating numbers in a vacuum. Whatever number we hear first gets in our mind, and everything gets judged relative to that.

    Strangely, the anchoring number doesn’t even have to be related to the subject being negotiated to have an effect. Studies have been done where, before discussion starts, an unrelated number gets thrown out.

    Something like the local left fielder’s salary or the price of a gallon of gas.

    And the resulting agreements end at a higher price when the higher number was mentioned.

    Happens in real estate all the time.

    If you’ve ever written an offer on a property, you know the routine, start as low as you can without insulting the seller or making them stop talking to you.

    In almost every case, the buyer expects to pay more than the first number they write down.

    They want a counter, and the counter will usually drift toward the anchor created by that first offer.

    So by starting lower, you finish lower.

    Sellers can use this too.

    When you put a property on the market, the asking price works like an opening offer. Not a perfect match to a written offer, but close enough that the psychology is the same.

    Your asking price sets the anchor on your side.

    Obviously you can’t list a $100K property for $100 million and call that strategy.

    But you can list it on the high side and shift the entire negotiation upward before it even begins.

    Most buyers will start higher if you start higher. And most deals finish somewhere related to those starting positions.

    This idea works much better on land than it does on houses. (lucky for me)

    Housing has tighter price bands. There are a lot of comparable sales, a lot of similar properties, and buyers who can look at dozens of options in an afternoon.

    People can tell instantly when a house is overpriced.

    On top of that, almost all housing depends on financing. And financing depends on appraisals. A lender won’t let a buyer stretch very far, and even if the buyer wants to, they often can’t.

    Land doesn’t always follow the same rules. Each tract is unique.

    Size, shape, elevation, trees, road access, water, and views hit buyers differently.

    Something that is just fine for one person can be perfect for someone else.

    And if the right buyer (or more realistically the buyer’s wife) decides a piece of land is perfect, the price ceiling gets flexible very quickly.

    You also run into a lot more cash buyers, which means the appraisal choke point disappears.

    With land, you’re almost making a mistake if you don’t price fifteen to twenty-five percent above what you truly expect to receive.

    Notice I said 15–25 percent. Not 250.

    A little high won’t scare people off the way it does with houses. And if the right buyer shows up, you might end up selling for more than you planned.

    But even if you don’t, the anchoring still works in your favor. Start higher, finish higher.

    That’s the point.

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    PS – I say on here all the time that if you improve your negotiation skills you improve every part of you life. The best two books I know of (I read them both every year because they are that good) are Start With No by Jim Camp and Never Split the Difference by Chris Voss.

    If you’re interested in learning the systems and strategies they employ (ie not cheap tactics you can get them at my Recommended Reading page.

    Click Here To Get Them

    (Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Clicking that link may earn me a small commission, at no extra cost to you.)

  • Most People Only Judge Decisions by the Outcome

    Most People Only Judge Decisions by the Outcome

    Just because you got a good result doesn’t mean you did something smart.

    Say you’re in a casino playing blackjack.

    We’ll skip the obvious point: the smartest play is not being in the casino in the first place. If you sit down at a table where the house mathematically wins over time, you already made a bad decision.

    But let’s say you’re there anyway, with a friend.

    You both get dealt 16. Dealer is showing a King.

    You hit. You bust.

    Your friend stands. Dealer flips a weak card underneath, draws again, goes over, and busts.

    You lose. He wins. He looks at you like he’s the genius.

    Here’s the truth:

    You made the correct play. He made the wrong play. He just got rewarded for it.

    This time.

    Hitting 16 against a 10 or face card is the higher probability move. It doesn’t mean it works every time.

    It means over the long run, you lose less money by doing it. (note I didn’t say “win more”)

    Your friend made the lower probability move and happened to get the good result this time.

    The casino is built on this exact trick. People confuse outcome with decision quality.

    And most people make real estate decisions the same way.

    Someone lists their land way above where the comps say it should be. Because “someone might pay it.” And yes, sometimes someone does. Just like sometimes standing on 16 works out.

    But more likely?

    You sit on the market. You burn the best early attention. Interest cools.

    You get labeled as overpriced before the right buyers even see it.

    Then the only offers that come in are the ones you didn’t want.

    You didn’t just lose time. You lost leverage. Now you’re negotiating from behind.

    The smart pricing strategy in real estate is the probability play, not the fantasy play. What is most likely to happen? What have actual buyers actually paid for similar property in the last 60 to 90 days? What does current inventory look like? How many real buyers exist for this kind of property right now?

    The correct strategy is not hoping for the best outcome or whatever “feels good.” You should be looking at the likelihood of success along with the potential payouts for each option and act accordingly.

    Yes, you only need one buyer. But normally the best way to find that buyer is to price where the largest pool of real buyers actually is. Not where the imaginary long-shot buyer might be someday if everything goes perfectly.

    If you keep making the highest probability decisions, the outcomes take care of themselves over time.

    The other way, the stand on 16 and hope way, looks smart every now and then, right up until it doesn’t.

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    If you want your land decisions based on probabilities instead of luck, I’ll show you the actual numbers and what they mean. No hype. Just reality and what to do next.

    If you’re not under pressure and the market doesn’t seem likely to give you what you’d like, then wait. Won’t hurt my feelings any.

    But if it does look like you can get where you want to go, put it out there and see.

    It may not work. Nothing is foolproof.

    But by making smarter decisions up front it usually gets easier later.

    Is it ever a bad time to do the smart thing?

    Click below:

    Got a lot you might want to sell?
    Get a FREE, no obligation report on what it could sell for today.
    Get Your Lot Valuation

    Own land instead?
    Get a report for that here:
    Get Your Land Value

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