John is selling his brick-and-frame, 1,500-square-foot ranch-style home in Sunny dale. He has set up listing appointments with three real estate brokers who have come highly recommended by family and friends. John is trying to sell his home for the fourth time in three years. Previous list prices of John's house were $315,000 (180 days on market), $300,000 (90 days on market), and $250,000 (90 days on market).

There are six listings for ranch-style homes between $175,000 and $235,000. There have been no listings in Sunnydale as high as $315,000. There have been five 2,000-square-foot, two-story dwellings listed for $285,000-$299,000 during the past three years. The highest sale of a ranch-style home in the past six months is

$215,000 with 125 days on market. The highest sale of a two-story home is $265,000 with 137 days on market.

Anita, a real estate broker with Air Tight Realty, arrives at John's house for a listing appointment. She has a digital camera, a smartphone,and a listing presentation. As she starts her presentation, John states, "I need at least $200,000 after I pay your commission. And I hope you aren't as pushy as the last couple of agents who came through here. They told me I didn't have a hope of selling my house for that kind of money."

Anita makes some quick calculations and looksat the competitive market analysis (CMA) she has prepared. She responds, "In order for you to pay our commis sion of 5 percent and for you to receive $200,000, we'd have to sell your house for

$210,500. But that doesn't cover your other closing costs. We should add $5,000 for good measure, making $215,500. This will be tough, as the highest sale of a ranch in Sunnydale is $215,000. I've been inside that ranch, and it was in better condition than your home. Can you be flexible about your asking price and sales price?"

1.Should Anita accept the listing at any price and hope John is reasonable later and lowers his asking price?

2.Can Anita say, "Everyone charges a 5 percent commission. It's the standard"?

3.What data should Anita have in her CMA?

4.Anita says, "The other agents a.ren't as good as I am. They've been sanc tioned by our state licensing agency." Can she say thls? Should she say this?

5.John is frustrated in his inability to sell his house for the amount he wants. What should Anita do to educate John? Will this education process help Anita obtain the listing? How?