During the past few years, most agents have shunned high priced listings, and for good reason. Why work tirelessly and spend recklessly when no-one is likely to buy the property anyway because of the price?  That strategy may have worked well during the downturn, but times have changed. When it comes to listing properties in 2013, don’t be so quick to look a gift horse in the mouth.  Listings will be hard to come by next year for nearly all agents. You should expect a long line of good agents that will happily list homes for more than they’re worth, during the coming crunch. Starting now, it will make far more sense to aggressively jump all over every listing opportunity.

Also, consider the appreciation potential next year. Prices appreciated nationwide at 6-7% this year, according to Realtytrac and the Case-Shiller Housing Index. Assuming no major catastrophe from reaching the debt ceiling and fiscal cliff, appreciation in all price points and most markets is likely to be even better next year. Use this potential appreciation number to get longer listing periods. For example, if someone wants to list their home for $600,000, and its only worth $500,000, do everything you can to get an 18 month listing period to let the market catch up with the price the Seller is demanding. A home worth $500,000.00 now, will be worth as much as $550,000 in another 1-1.5 years. The home may be impossible to sell in the short-term, but, if you factor in the list to sale price ratio, this property could be well worth $600,000, less the 7-10% price adjustment from the contract to list price.

Be sure to treat you Sellers with the utmost respect as your best advocates. Remember, your Sellers will not only be responsible for income you earn from selling the house, they may also be responsible for 60% of the buyers that you close, as this is the typical percentage of buyers that come from listing marketing. Ultimately, your Sellers will make or break you in 2013. Finally, if you plan on using the same strategies you’ve used during the past few years to get listings, you better think again. If you’re not doing something different or better than everyone else, you’re not going to get listings.

So, buck up and get to work, and you may just have one of the best years of your life in 2013!