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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.

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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

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

APR

2008

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Hello Terry,

I haven't had anyone present me with one of these programs. These things can do so much damage. Its amazing that anyone can convince a client to sell at an appropriate price anymore - in some ways its amazing that anyone sells anything anymore. So many people are back-seat appraisers. Interestingly enough - one trend remains constant - sellers and buyers only believe in these programs and zestimates if it skews the price in THEIR favor!

Good Point Don....

My guess is that since it only takes 45 hours to get a license - everyone wants to assume that selling real estate is "easy." They don't WANT to pay the fees and won't accept that selling a large asset that is very individualistic is an expensive and long process. What they don't recognize is that real estate has a short licensing period and LOOOOOONNNNG on-the-job training that spans years. The woods are full of them on my blog! They call, pick my brains and FSBO - and are generally overpriced. Then they relent and "list" for a flat fee and offer a coop - but STILL overprice and do no other marketing and wonder why it doesn't sell. Relatively few people are capable of a successful FSBO.

Hi Jackie -

I call it "boots on the ground." One of the issues in my area is the price of LAND itself. If a home is modest, but can be expanded and there is a precedent for high prices elsewhere very nearby, the lot can be worth a great deal more than the house. Around here single lot can go from $250-750k depending on the circumstances and whether there is an existing foundation. You can have a shack on one of these expensive lots and it doesn't matter! If its in the right location the land is worth a fortune. I was on a property like that last week. The buyer wanted to see it because of the price. I asked him if he was SURE he wanted to see it. The roof was peeling off, the gutters were gone, the siding was shot - several shutters were on the grass (they fell off) and the weeds were crawling up the home - and the inside has made the outside look good. Neither of us opted to see the basement - I was AFRAID to go down there and I don't scare easily. My buyer mistakenly thought that the price was $200k off - it was about $80k off.. Truth to tell, the LOT was very valuable.

Julie,

This is why real estate is very local. These days with deals few and far between agents are covering ever expanding areas - much to the detriment of th consumer. I learn areas fairly well before I try to operate in them, but it isn't always so simple. I'm seeing people from different area codes listing in White Plains (this one of THE most competitive and saturated areas for agents.) Because of all the building people came out of the woodwork to sell and list. The result is listings that make no sense whatsoever with respect to pricing. Then, because everyone is trying to work my home city - I have to expand too. I really do think the "older method" of local agents doing referrals is better for the client. But people are hanging onto clients to get the whole commission.

Hi there Debbie,

It's the same thing around here. I cross the bridge to the next county - or the border to the Bronx and EVERYTHING changes. Completely different price structure. A world away. The commute to NYC is very different in these areas and that's a major driver of prices in the tristate aarea.

Thank you Rosario,

A turkey vulture! I hope you get that shot eventually. that IS a big bird!

I must have looked so ridiculous - I hope no one saw me. I don't think hawks gossip that much about how people look - so hopefully I'm safe! (My dogs don't care!) The trouble with my digital camera is the delay in the shutter. I took quite a few pictures and the hawk moved enough to blur it. This was as close as I could get with reasonable resolution and it took quite a few shots to get this one good one. Fortunately he wasn't going anywhere, but he kept moving his head. If I continue taking photos like I am, I will upgrade in a year or so to have a better wide angle and zoom capacity. I need more sales to do that though!

I got a digital camera and I love it. I did find out through trial and error that I don't want to use the high end of the zoom, think it is the digital zoom because it tends to be blurry.

A great deal depends on the resolving power of the camera....how many mega-pixels. My camera simply doesn't have much zoom capacity. I was trying to save a few $$$ and I really regret it now because there is so much more I could do with a better camera. There are a lot of things that just didn't cut it for me that would have been wonderful shots with a better wide angle and zoom....I've only got myself to blame!

Ruthmarie!! I have a Hawk similar to that in my yard too!! I am so excited to see it. I heard it this morning but could not see it. I think it is so cool. I took some photos too. Love that.

Ruthmarie,

Great photo of the Hawk. Love some of the things you are doing on your site. Thanks for stopping by my article. i an just returning the favor.

Guy

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