(This is the lastof a 5-part series about the harm caused to a real estate market by agents and brokers reporting innacurate or misleading real estate statistics... that more often reflect an agenda than true market conditions. See the first article in this series here, and previous article to this one here.)
So, what’s the solution?
One of the key things to be aware of, obviously, in real estate reporting is to remember that the public is not as familiar with real estate statistics as we are. They do not deal with them every day like we do.
The main thing we try to do is make sure what we report is clear and easy to understand. It need to be a double-talk free zone. One must not put out information that is confusing, or obscure (like using “Tahoe” in a South Lake Tahoe report). To any lengths is where we all must go to make sure what we report is not misleading to the public.
The best way of making sure that everyone can easily understand market information is to qualify it exactly. If one is going to use “Tahoe” data, for example, lets make it clear that the information comes from 4 different resources, and that none are particularly relevant to each other. (If one thinks they are, then explain why.)
If one is going to include the extreme high end homes in a market report, lets indicate that they are included. But lets not use those numbers when reporting on a market that has none of them. If we are going to include a $100,000,000 listing in NV, then lets explain how extreme high-end Nevada home values apply to a market entry buyer in South Lake Tahoe, CA. If we can’t, then lets not use it.
If any data is taken out, or put into a market report to make the numbers “look” better, or be more reflective of one’s agenda, lets make sure we identify it exactly, and then explain why.
A good example of what we mean here is we routinely take The Tahoe Keys out of our general market reports for South Lake Tahoe, CA., and for our reports for Stateline, NV., we take out Lake Front Properties and Glenbrook. We routinely note this for our readers, and explain why. (The Tahoe Keys skews market data upward in the range of 3 to 5.5%, and Lake Front Properties and Glenbrook can skew market data upward by as much as 18%.)
Another way of saying this, and it’s certainly simpler, healthier for your market, and more trust inspiring, is if one has an agenda when reporting real estate numbers, just tell everybody what it is.
(See the first article in this series here, and previous article to this one here.)
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