The Reality of Listing Real Estate

There is plenty of inventory in the market for buyers, thus creating a buyers market. Good for the buyer but what about the seller? Well, reality can be harsh sometimes and for the seller today, many times there not hearing what they want to hear. When you decide to sell your home, for whatever reason, the value is determined by a realtor, based on what similar homes in a close proximity of yours sold for recently as a major factor. Many other things factor is as well, the year of your home, condition, location and desirability to name a few. What can happen in any market is happening now it seems more than ever. Sellers are asking for at least two realtor's to come to their home and do a CMA (Comparative Market Analysis) which is by far, the most in depth way to determine the actual value of your home. There will likely be a minor difference in opinion between realtor's, however, it should be pretty close if done correctly and by competent realtor's.

Herein lies the problem, based on a lot of listings we're seeing and from our own experiences. Let's simplify the issue. Realtor one comes out and and generally asks in the first few minutes what you think you'd like to sell your home for. You've got a number in mind and discuss it with the realtor. OK, now the realtor will let you know if your in the ball park based on their personal opinion and takes the information they need to do a full CMA and after a couple of days and hours of in depth analysis, comes up with a value of $215,900. The realtor can provide you with the tools used to determine the value and discusses the information they used regarding the determination of value and you can decide to list the home with them or have a second or even third realtor provide you with a CMA (we recommend a 2nd opinion for your personal concern) and decide who you feel will do the best job in your interests. For our scenario, we'll consider only a second realtor. The process is the same, however, when you get your CMA from realtor #2, the value is significantly higher. For our scenario, we'll say 15K higher. This should be a matter of concern for you immediately. Keep in mind, the realtor's are competing for your business and a difference of 15K is something you need to consider. But who's closer to the right number?

To determine that, it's time for you to do some homework. Compare the CMA's and think back to your original number you discussed to sell with both realtor's. Is one value exactly or close to what you wanted originally? Are the CMA's both done professionally and using a majority of the same information in determining value? Look on the internet for homes similar to yours and see what they're listed for currently. Many times but certainly not always, it might seem the lower number is the reality of the situation and the higher number has some major differences in what homes were used for comparison.

Now, you need to make a decision. List at the higher price and hope someone pays the price? List at the lower price and enhance your opportunity for a quicker sale? This decision lies with you alone. Keep in mind the old saying that "If it seems to good to be true, it probably is". Look around and consider the reasonability of both or more numbers if you have them. We're not insinuating that the lower number is always the correct number, what we're asking you to do is take a common sense approach to listing your home and consider what's important to you. You may have all the time in the world and want to list at the higher price to see if someone bites at it. That again is completely up to you. You also need to consider the market and the inventory available. Is your home going to be passed by strictly because it's priced over market value and there are many others to choose from. The short answer is yes. When it comes down to it, you need to pick the realtor you feel comfortable with and not the one who told you what you wanted to hear. You control the situation but keep in mind, you are signing into a business relationship with a realtor and signing a binding contract for typically at least 6 months. Who do you want to be in business with? That, my friends, is completely up to you. Good luck!