I recently completed an analysis of ARMLS (Arizona Regional MLS) data for 12 months of Short Sales. I focused on Closed, Cancelled and Expired.
The purpose was to determine Short Sale list to close ratio - the premise being that to avoid foreclosure in Phoenix and other parts of the Phoenix metro area, you have one shot at it and therefore it's in your best interest to select a Short Sale Listing Broker, a Short Sale Listing Agent, a Short Sale Listing Realtor that can prove based on their track record that they know how to get Short Sales closed.
The closer their list to close ratio is to 100%, the better the chances that yours will close too!
I was astounded by some of the statistics, and I'll share them over a series of posts so as not to throw a bunch of numbers at you all at once.
Of the 128 real estate brokerages in ARMLS that had a track record for short sales between 8/5/2009 and 8/5/2010 for a dozen or more transactions and had a list to close ratio that exceeded the 48.32% average:
The range of List to Close ratios was from a low of 48.32% to a high of 88.89%.
19 real estate brokerages/franchises had closed more than 100 Short Sales, and their List to Close ratios ranged from 40.80% to 54.97%, and averaged 50.14%.
Only 16 real estate brokerages (none of which are a national franchise or major regional franchise) exceeded a Short Sale List to Close ratio of 70%.
Lesson: When choosing a Short Sale Listing Broker make sure to ask the following 2 questions:
1. How many listings has your brokerage/franchise closed?
2. What is your brokerage/franchise list to close ratio for the past 12 months?
Only 16 brokerages can legitimately claim a short sale list to close ratio of 70% or higher. So - your choices are now down to 16 brokerages if you want 7 out of 10 odds of closing your short sale. Keep in mind you typically will get one, and only one, bite at the short sale apple before your property goes to Trustee Sale.
Comments(98)