When Subjectivity Isn’t Just Superficial If the Comp’s aren’t convincing enough, Realtor “Jane Doe” will take Sellers on tours of comparable properties. “They can see this other house is in much better condition, and it’s priced $20,000 less than theirs. It’s eye-opening.” –Spokane agent, sharing her strategy for working with unrealistic Sellers in “Setting Them Straight”; Realtor Magazine. ...Read More
Comparing Honey Crisps to Braeburns One of the more quizzical looks Realtors get is when they (try to) explain to a prospective home Seller that their neighbor’s house isn’t a “Comp” (Comparable Sold Property). In plain English: it isn’t relevant — at least directly — for pricing their home. For the uninitiated, a Comp is...Read More
“I’ll List Your House for $700k $750k $800k!!” Anxious Buyers aren’t the only ones bidding up home prices this year. So are some Realtors, including at least a few who should (and do) know better. Housing Market Icaruses One of the things that can happen when prospective home Sellers interview lots of agents in an...Read More
“Outlier” Comp’s — Both High & Low Wanna guess the single best way, bar none, to know for sure the Seller got a (very) good price for their home? It’s not whether the house sold especially fast, for full price (or higher!), or even received multiple offers. All those metrics can be misleading, for a...Read More
How Realtors Grade Clients Clients occasionally may have a select few words for their Realtors, but Realtors also have some favorite words for their clients. No, not “%!%#!” Rather, how “cooperative” they are. What do I mean by that? For Sellers, client cooperation boils down to these three things: 1. Pricing. A cooperative client picks...Read More
Client to Agent: “What Would You Do?” You break it, you own it.” —The Pottery Barn Rule. “You make it, you own it” (translation: if you make a decision for a client . . . you are responsible for the consequences). —Real estate corollary, Ross Kaplan. Whether it’s in the context of choosing a home,...Read More