Let’s look at the detached-home sales closed over the last 30 days and compare the sales prices to the list prices.
Carmel Valley, 92130 Feb 28 – Mar 30
Category
2012
2013
Chg
# of Sales
34
49
+44%
Median SP
$927K
$885K
-5%
Avg $/sf
$324
$355
+10%
SP:LP
95%
98%
+3%
Avg Days on Mkt
65
38
-42%
(20 of 49 went pending in 9 days or less)
13 of 49 sold for over list price (or over top of range):
$0-$10,000 over list: 4
$11,000 – $25,000 over list: 6
$26,000 – $50,000 over list: 2
$51,000+ over list: 1
Carmel Valley is arguably the hottest market in the county, yet only 27% of the sales went over list price. Less than 10% (3 of 49) went crazy-over, paying more than $26,000 above list price. The hottest action was in the lower range too, only 3 of the 20 sales over $1,000,000 were above list price.
A good example here on how the median sales price is more about the mix of houses selling than being an accurate reflection of pricing – will anyone in CV believe that their house went down 5% in price over the last year?
Three of the 49 sales were double-ended (buyers were represented by the listing agent), plus two that were sold prior to listing input.
13 of 52 sold for over list price (or over top of range):
$0-$10,000 over list: 5
$11,000 – $25,000 over list: 4
$26,000 – $50,000 over list: 2
$51,000+ over list: 2
SE Carlsbad is loaded with newer tract houses, and about half of the 92009 is in the Encinitas/San Dieguito School District. Yet only 25% of the sales went over list price. Less than 8% (4 of 52) went crazy-over, paying more than $26,000 over list price. The hottest action was in the lower range too, there were no overbids once the sales prices got above $860,000.
The frenzy is focused on the premium products – the renovated houses in good locations with attractive prices. If the frenzy is not for you, there is still plenty of opportunity, especially if you like fixers and/or are patient enough to let the OPTs sit for weeks or months!
This is the full tour of the ADM 6,235 sf Plan 4 model home, without all the people around.
The staff recognizes that this is the Big Kahuna, the pinnacle of many careers to bring this tract to market. Those selling it will never have another opportunity like this, and expect to take three years to sell the 107 houses and 29 homesites.
A high-level executive at Sotheby’s International Realty recently revealed to China’s state television broadcaster that he personally helped a Chinese mother buy a $6.5 million Manhattan apartment for her daughter.
“We were running around the city looking at things and I finally said: ‘Well why are you buying?,” Sotheby’s International SVP Kevin Brown told CCTV. “And she said, well, her daughter was going to go to Columbia, or NYU or maybe Harvard and so she needed to be in the centre of the city and that was why she was picking this one particular apartment.
So I said: ‘Oh, how old is your daughter?’ and she said: ‘Well she’s two’. And I was just shocked.”
The mother finally settled on a luxury space in Midtown’s ultra-extravagant, Park Hyatt-managed One57 skyscraper, which is still under construction.
Planned amenities include: A private fitness center and yoga studio; a private dining room with full catering kitchen; a private concert hall; a private library with billiard table and 24-foot aquarium; a “pet wash room”; and an additional “discreet entrance” on 58th Street.
While the mother’s identity has yet to be officially revealed, many on the Chinese social network Weibo have arrived at the conclusion that she must be the wife of, or otherwise related to, a corrupt government official.
Perched on a San Juan Island shoreline, this 2,365 sqft home looks northwest over Sunset Bay, Haro Strait, and occasional whales passing by. In order to utilize this small, medium bank waterfront property to best advantage, the home was designed with two mirroring curved glass walls that frame views, and let maximum light into the home. The architecture is composed of two pavilions arranged to embrace the site and the natural forces acting upon it.
I was asked, “How can you explain that a realtor in Detroit gets paid 5% to sell a $12,000 dump, and you get paid the same 5% to sell an $800,000 house?”
I can explain it in one word.
BOUNTY
You are offering a reward for an agent to bring you a top-dollar sale.
The commission dollars look ridiculous if you try to justify the pay as a regular hourly wage or salary job.
Consider it as offering an incentive.
If you offer $400, it won’t raise an eyebrow. If you offer $4,000, a couple of agents might start looking around for their flip-flops.
But if you offer $40,000, every agent will drop everything, go pick up their buyer and coming running over – and that’s the type of response that causes a top-dollar sale.
Then I added, “Recently I sold a house for more than 10% over list price in a carefully-orchestrated bidding war – do you think I earned the 5%?”
