(Mis)Reading the Signs Pricing real estate is fundamentally precedent-driven. In other words, if you want to establish an estimated fair market value for “Property H,” you first need to determine what Properties E, F, and G sold for. In Realtor (and Appraiser) lingo, E, F, and G are called Comp’s (“Comparable Sold Properties”), and the compare-and-contrast process...Read More
Now, THAT’S Patience Just as broken clocks are accurate twice a day, an overpriced home that sits on the market long enough is likely — eventually — to be overtaken by the next market “up cycle” and once again be well-priced. So, I’m aware of a handful of active listings scattered through the Twin Cities...Read More
(More) Realtor Euphemisms Realtors will seldom come right out and say that a property they’re representing is overpriced. Instead, what you will privately hear from the listing agent (like I did yesterday in Kenwood) is, “The Seller priced the listing.” That’s invariably followed by, “make an offer (any offer).” For more real estate euphemisms, see “Real...Read More
Sellers Competing Against Themselves: Exhibit A I’ve certainly seen plenty of listed homes that seem to be stuck in a time warp: seasons come and go, Presidential administrations change — and yet the list price stays the same. And then there’s this house in St. Paul’s Highland Park neighborhood. Since debuting on the market scarcely...Read More
How Long Should Sellers Wait to Reduce Their Price? “If a tree falls in the forest in forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?” –Philosophy riddle “If a Seller drops their price when the market’s slow, does anyone notice?” –Corollary, Ross Kaplan Not all “days on the market” are...Read More
That Would be *Five(!) Price Reductions (If You’re Counting) First, two caveats: 1) the home that goes with the rather brutal chart (above) — spanning over 2 years of market time — wasn’t my listing (I prepared it as part of my listing presentation for a home down the street); 2) it’s from a...Read More
