You know you're doing good when......

I was reviewing comparable listings on a project we listed just last week in the Four Seasons 55+ community of Hemet when it brought a huge smile to my face. I was unsure of what price to go out at as the listings in that community are all over the place, from the 130,000 range to the 200,000 range. I realized that about 75% of those were short sales, which I do not consider competition. I then chose to see only Standard and Bank Owned homes, as those are homes where the seller has the ability to sell without needing approval of some sort. The following results made me jubilant (Yes, I get excited easily).

There are 11 standard and 9 REO listings inside Four Seasons, which is a private guard gated community on the west end of Hemet. The lowest Standard listing was listed at $139,900 and was 300 square feet smaller. The lowest REO listing was $139,900, and this was a trashed home 200 square feet smaller needing complete rehab. The average price was $160,000. The average price of our model was $180,000. Ultimately I decided to go out at $144,900. I did this for several reasons. I wanted to be the lowest listed home of our exact size. I wanted to ensure we had instant showings, instant offers, and that we weren’t stuck with a high list price in a down market.

Now that my list price was set, I decided to review in great detail the competition. There were 3 other homes active or pending that were model matches to our property. The one I found most interesting was one listed at $179,900, on the market for 127 days. Upon visiting the property, I made the following observations; the home was in the same condition as ours; the home backed an open field; and the home ultimately was a great comparable. Now to the part that made me smile. This was a standard investor owned sale. The investment group PAID $142,600!!! This means they PAID about what we are SELLING ours for!! We on the other hand PAID just $110,500! This goes hand in hand with our “buy low, sell low” policy! If we buy under the competition, and sell under the competition, we will remain in business for many years to come!