Lots of Extra Tasks — But Also One Less It’s no secret that participating in multiples offers can be challenging: for stressed Buyers, their exhausted agents, and even listing agents (representing the Seller), who may be overwhelmed by the number of offers. Fortunately, there’s at least one standard, time-consuming task that Buyers’ agents in multiple...Read More
The Goldilocks Approach As I’ve discussed in previous posts, the essence of pricing real estate is what’s called “bracketing.” (See, “Bracketing,” Explained“; and “Why the Neighbor’s House Usually Isn’t a Comp“). Translation: you need to find a home that’s just above the home you’re trying to price (called the “subject property”) and one that’s just...Read More
Real Estate Vocabulary #101 At least when it comes to residential real estate, when is a positive a negative, and a negative a positive? Answer: when it comes to doing a Comparative Market Analysis (“CMA”), the tool Realtors — as well as appraisers — use to estimate a property’s fair market value. CMA Math So,...Read More
“What Will Buyers Pay?” vs. “What Value Does a Bank Need to Refinance the Current Mortgage?” [Editor’s Note: The views expressed here are solely those of Ross Kaplan, and do not represent Edina Realty, Berkshire Hathaway, or any other entity referenced.] If you’re an appraiser or mortgage lender, stop reading now. No? Good. One of...Read More
“Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not to his own facts.” –Daniel Patrick Moynihan Substitute “Comp’s” — as in “Comparable Sold Properties” — for “facts,” and you’ve got a pretty good rule of thumb for pricing residential real estate. So, while prospective home sellers can (and do!) compare their home to any properties...Read More
What Is — and Isn’t — Relevant Pricing a Home Wait a second! Why, in early July, am I discussing homes that sold last December? Because they pop up as “Comp’s” (Comparable Sold Properties) for at least 2 relatively unique homes that I’m trying to price for clients now. No doubt (many) other Twin Cities agents are...Read More
