Del Mar Heights is an eclectic mix of older customs and tract houses, combined with some sensational remodels. A super-custom 4,400sf house about 100 yards from my new listing sold for $2,650,000….in 2009! (house is now listed for rent at $8,500 per month).
Unique older neighborhoods are tough to comp in any year, but now with lower inventory and pocket listings, the actual values can only be determined by testing the open market – which we will do this weekend.
Justifying the price is the listing agent’s job – they meet the appraiser, and provide the comps. Yet rarely do you see any evidence being provided to the buyers or agents – they want you to figure it out.
Not me – I want to help buyers and their agents come to the right conclusion. It starts with knowing the comps, which is why Kayla and I look at houses together every week on broker caravan:
In less than 24 hours, we’ve had 333 views on Zillow:
http://www.zillow.com/homedetails/2460-Oakridge-Cv-Del-Mar-CA-92014/16763155_zpid/
Its great you actually look at some of the comps. I think some folks just go off a piece of paper. It seems like even though a house could be same sq ft and layout there are a ton of variables that influence value. View, home location on street, homes surrounding the subject, road noise, schools, noise in general, power lines etc.
lets say you have a home that sold with all pretty much the same 2 months ago but we are in a rising market. what kind of annual increase would you try to look for?
If it was say 10% then 10/12= .83% /month. so you have two months behind you and it may take 2 months to close.So .83*4 = 3.33% increase in price at that rate.
So on a 1.5 million comp in the above example your listing price would be 1,549,500. any method to my madness?
Bottom line you have to know what the market is doing correct?
Yes, and if you were in a Carmel Valley newer tract-house neighborhood where comparable sales were very similar, it would work. In my case, I have two pending comps that weren’t exposed to the open market that are undermining the values by 10% – on paper.
It’s hard to believe that in 2015 every listing doesn’t have a video tour attached. If they did, we could accurately compare the upgrades and put the right value on them.
Instead, we have the listing agent’s photos to rely on, if any. Neither of the two pendings have interior photos – one has a handful of yard pics, and the other has one photo of the front of the house and no remarks. Such practices, while within the MLS rules, harm the neighborhood values – nobody can accurately use those as comps.
Reading how meticulously thorough you are with your preparation and exposing your newest listing to the open market is indicative that you put your seller’s best interests at the forefront, Jim. And I have no doubt it’s the same with a buyer. It will be interesting to hear of the feedback and interest you get from buyers with your open house this weekend…
Interesting
It seems like the kitchens and baths would be the most helpful photos on the interior to look for upgrades correct?
Were the pending comps even on the mls? Were they there for like a day and disappeared?
Do appraissors usually consider comps that were not on the mls? Lets say there was a private transaction between parties that was never on the mls but recorded as a sale at the county. That wouldn’t seem like a good comp either.
Yes, and with fewer sales they don’t have much choice. They used to ignore REOs when there were plenty of other sales, but now they look at all and without a legit meter to guide them.
Selling homes off-market and then throwing them in the MLS with the bragging rights “sold before processing” in the remarks and nothing else is a badge of honor in this business.