This ibuyer was new in the game and was hoping to make a splash. Somebody there should have known in June of this year that the frenzy was wrapping up before investing $2.5 million cash into a 20-year old basic tract house on a busier street on the fringe of La Costa Valley.
My advice has been clear all along: Spruce ’em up nicely, stage it, price it attractively, and hire me to be your agent. If they would have just done some of those things, this would have turned out better.
Instead, they did no improvements, priced it for what they paid, put it on the MLS as a coming-soon listing before they actually owned it, and then did SEVEN price reductions and THREE listing refreshes before closing escrow today for $1,900,000.
About 1-2 months ago I asked the listing agent if they would take $2,000,000 cash, and he said that the offers were coming in higher than that so….no. And then they close for $1,900,000. This is where the jimjamalama really pays off for sellers!
Compass shares reached a three-month high on Friday after an earnings report detailed mounting losses but also some success in its efforts to cut costs while maintaining an edge against its competitors. The stock closed at $3.50, up nearly 45 percent on the day and 90 percent from Wednesday afternoon, when shares hit a low point of $1.85.
Things aren’t exactly perfect in CompassLand: The company reported a $154 million loss in the third quarter as high mortgage rates crushed demand in the housing market. Still, its revenue beat Wall Street expectations, hauling in $1.49 billion, compared to the projected $1.45 billion.
The firm also managed to add 355 agents and grow its market share, even while trimming equity and cash recruitment incentives as it aims to cut $320 million in annual expenses.
The growth in value was not simply an industry-wide increase, either. The iShares U.S. Real Estate ETF, which tracks real estate stocks at large, is up 7 percent since Wednesday afternoon. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is up less than 4 percent.
Hours before Thursday’s earnings call, Compass CEO Robert Reffkin spoke at TRD’s South Florida Real Estate Showcase + Forum. “Every time you read a headline that Compass lost money, what you’re really reading is that Compass decided to invest in agents,” Reffkin said at the event.
Reffkin also rebuffed rumors that Compass was in talks to be taken over by a private equity company. He said that the company spent previous years focused on growth because that was what investors wanted — now that they want profit, he’s turning to profit.
Transaction costs, taxes, maintenance,.. pretty sure the bill was a lot more than $600k.
IMHO this transaction probably rings the bell at the top of the “We Buy Homes” for this cycle.