False Negatives and False Positives
In a post earlier this month titled, “Who’s Watching the Listing?,” I talked about the utility — and lack thereof — of tracking how many times a particular property has been saved on MLS.
Generally speaking, the more people watching a listing, the better; presumably, prospective Buyers like the home but not the price, and want to know when it’s dropped.
However, the number of times a listing has been saved also depends on the demographics of the likely pool of Buyers.
So, a seniors-only building is likely to appeal to older, less techno-savvy Buyers, who are probably less likely to tweak the “dial settings” on MLS.
Bottom line: even though the listing has been saved few (or no) times, it doesn’t mean anything.
Call that a “false negative.”
Looking for Bargains — Or Business?
What’s a “false positive?”
When the people saving the listing aren’t prospective Buyers, but Realtors.
And why would they do that?
Because they want to know when the listing expires, so they can try to re-list it (or so I’m told by a colleague).
(If you weren’t aware, the day after a listing expires, homeowners are typically deluged with calls from Realtors looking for business.)
