Is it just me or is society running amok? A few days ago, I made a listing presentation to a gentleman who wanted some suggestions on whether to fix up and sell or hold on to his parent's condominium. The parents had lived there for about 20 years and were recently moved to an assisted living home.
We went over his options - make renovations and fix up the condo for resale; clean and freshen up the condo for resale (i.e. painting and airing out); renting it out; or holding on to it until the market picked up. This particular unit has what many other competing properties don't - LOCATION. Our local market doesn't have that many condominium complexes and the last activity at this particular complex was the sale of a similar unit in May 2007 for $620,000 per the MLS. All units are owner/occupied and there is evidence of pride of ownership.
Well, being the ever diligent agent, I put together a pricing matrix from a limited number of comparable properties, using MLS data. We looked at what recently sold, what was expired or cancelled and what the current inventory was priced at. Although we didn't focus on pricing, I did give him some guidance as to where I thought the market was and mentioned that the idea was to price his condominium to be competitive with what was currently on the market, to ensure a quick sale (which is what he and his two brothers want, I think).
I was told that he would also be meeting with two other Brand X brokers to get their opinions.
That was two days ago. Today, I called to see if he had any further questions for me and asked when he would be making his decision.
He informed me that I was probably out of the running, because I hadn't done my homework. Obviously perplexed - he seemed very happy with my presentation and consultation - he mentioned that the two other brokers in the running both indicated that the comparable property in his complex (sold in 5/2007) was sold for $525,000. I had used a sales price of $620,000 in my pricing matrix (the sales price per the MLS). I told him that I would check the public record and would get back to him immediately.
What do you know? The public record shows a deed recorded for $525,000 on the comparable property! I called the seller back and told him that yes, indeed, the property had been sold for $525,000. I explained that even with that information, I was still comfortable with the pricing matrix that I had presented and suggested that he still follow my guidance to price the home to be competitive with the current market. I told him that I did not understand the discrepency between the MLS and the public record, and that it would be improper for me to query the listing and selling agents of the other property. He told me that it wouldn't have been necessary, because the listing and selling agents of the other property were actually the ones he was speaking to about listing his unit for sale.
So, now he's going to reward one of the firms that manipulated MLS data? I don't get it. My franchise auditors compare my in-house records with the MLS to ensure completeness. I had heard about certain firms that inflate their MLS information to improve their statistics, but I never thought I would see it in action!
I can only stand with my head held high. I have integrity and believe my advise to the potential client was sound - focus on the current market, don't spend too much time looking at what sold over a year ago. Am I supposed to validate my market comps with actual research at the registry of deeds? I wouldn't have thought so. But I guarantee you, I will only be burned once. I'm going to recommend to all my agents that they double check the registry records before putting out comparable market statistics.
As for the "winner" of the listing - shame on you and your firm. I could "understand" a clerical error of putting in the sales price of $625 (instead of $525), but to input the sales price at $620 was probably not a mistake.
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