Home : Blogs : Ruthmarie Hicks : Ruthmarie's Blog

This Hawk Tells You why Real Estate is Truly a LOCAL BUSINESS.....

png The picture of that hawk was taken by yours truly one morning. I had just let out the dogs into my back yard (yes its fenced) while I started making my essential morning brew when I noticed that Buddy barking at something and looking UP....I peered out the kitchen window into the back and looked in his direction and saw a very large hawk sitting in my neighbor's tree peering imperiously at the three dogs below. I've seen hawks in those trees before, either on my property with m neighbors, but was never able to capture the image. I grabbed my camera and went outside in my flip flops and sweats hoping no one would see me other than the hawk and the dogs and snapped a few pictures. I don't really have a zoom lens, so this was the best could do since he was way up in the trees.

Because I live in an area where there is a lot of parkland at the southern tip of White Plains the presence of hawks, coyotes, deer and various sundry other wildlife including eagles is not too surprising. It's an area of single family homes with larger lots. There are a lot of older homes with plenty of old-growth pines and maples leaving room for wildlife to share the area with its human occupants. Nevertheless, just about 2.5 miles away the scene is radically different. This is the heart of downtown White Plains, including Renaissance Square and City Center with its four skyscrapers. It's a place where pigeons are the primary avian species. I've never seen a hawk downtown and seriously doubt whether they frequent the area beyond passing over.

So why am I using a hawk to symbolize why real estate is a very local business?

The neighborhoods and character of the neighborhoods turn on a dime in Westchester and understanding such a market obviously requires LOCAL KNOWLEDGE with boots on the ground. One thing that I have noticed about websites like Zillow is that they have no regard for neighborhood boundaries. I've seen comps used from my end of town to justify Zestimates in close-in neighborhoods surrounding the City Center and Ritz Carlton. These are completely different areas with totally differing price ranges. In some cases I've even seen listings from different municipalities being used as comps for a listing. This is just ridiculous and shows us yet again that these large search engines that claim to do everything but dance and try to tell you that selling a home is a piece of cake are just full of themselves.

png

Posted by Ruthmarie Hicks on 04/08/2008 03:25 AM

Comments (18)

white plains, ny, 10605, 10601, city center, ritz carlton, renaissance square, westchester

This post has been included in New York Information Westchester County, NY Information White Plains, NY Information
Post is included in group: I Love NY

18 Comments on This Hawk Tells You why Real Estate is Truly a LOCAL BUSINESS.....

RE is incredibly local... in some markets you could say hyper-local. The big search engine sites are blunt force guesses. For the accurate stuff, buyers and sellers need a local expert. Good post, Ruthmarie.

04/08/2008 04:09 AM

by Fairbanks Real Estate Broker Jesse Clifton (Jesse & Kathy Clifton, REALTORS - 907.699.6024 - )

Even in neighborhoods the prices vary. I have had people tell me that the prices should be higher because of these general price range analysis programs. i think they can harm a seller into believing what they see on the internet as the truth.

04/08/2008 05:14 AM

by Terry Westbrook ~ Realtor(R) Grand Rapids Mi Ada/Cascade Real Estate (Five Star Real Estate, LLC Grand Rapids , MI)

Why is it easier for someone to believe the opposite. We have been trying to say this very thing for over a year now and it sometimes feels like nobody is listening. Thank you for the post.

04/08/2008 05:15 AM

by Don Rogers CRS, GRI, Broker/Sales Associate (RE/MAX Discover)

Here the market can even vary from street to street. Most areas of Port St Lucie area mixture of old and new homes. Occasionally you will find a street with the majority being newer. This punches up the price. Though we can do as the search engines do and sit in our offices to do CMA's one really needs to at least take a drive by the home and see what exists on the street. Certainally not a posibility for the online formats.

04/08/2008 05:43 AM

by Jackie Cross (All Florida GMAC Real Estate)

In Vernal there are neighborhoods that are mixed. There might be house built in 1980 or even 1946 next to large new construction. It does make the accuracy of a CMA or BPO difficult if it is not done by a local real estate agent who knows the area well.

04/08/2008 05:59 AM

by Julie Kippen Vernal Utah Real Estate (Century 21 Dart Realty)

Ruthmarie, you are so right, it's hard for me to comp property just over the bridge in another county, it's a different world. Great analogy and photo's.

04/08/2008 07:10 AM

by Debbie Malone, Realtor (R), Lynchburg, Smith Mountain Lake, VA (RE/MAX 1st Olympic)

I appreciate the challenge of getting that photo. This week we've been visited several times by a turkey vulture. Talk about a big bird! I didn't even try to get close enough to take a clear photo. With my camera, I know it would appear as a dark blob at best.

04/08/2008 08:09 AM

by Rosario Lewis, GRI ~ DDR Realty, Orange County, NY (DDR Realty)

Hi Jesse & Cathy,

Loved your video - I don't know - I really don't WANT to do video - but I know I'll have to. When you say hyper-local, I agree with you. The street, the side of the street - it all makes a difference. I was taking a client two towns away showing him listings in complexes that I simply had never done a transaction in. The "neighborhood" was a small three block area. I noticed from the comps that complexes on one side of the street sold for more than the other side, but was uncertain as to why. I finally called a couple of very local agents, told them where I was from and was wondering why this trend was so strong. The answer was that the noise factor and views were just better on the other side of the street and the noise factor was also more favorable but this didn't apply to units that faced the street. They were on more equal footing. Those that faced the back and sides were more expensive on one side.

Long reply, but we have the same thing in WP. A view changes everything. The side of the street changes things as well. And when I am seeing comps coming out of Zillow that are MILES away and TOWNS away -I just shake my head.

04/08/2008 12:51 PM