Comparing Apples To Pears
This is a great article to remind us how important it is to use a good Realtor when buying or selling your home. Having accurate information, along with the expertise to analyze it is critical when determining the correct value of a home.
I know...typically this would be apples and oranges, but the only graphic I could find has a pear instead. At first I thought, "this doesn't make any sense"! Then I started to think about it, and actually it's a pretty good analogy.
Every buyer wants to know if the home they are considering is a good value. Of course they do....but how to tell these days?
I hear all the time from these self-comping (is that even a word) buyers; they are using "comps" from Zillow, they are checking "solds" from Trulia, they are seeing "current" price-per-square-footage from Redfin. Assuming for the moment that the data is even current, it's still not a professional comparable analysis.
In the cities I service, the square footage figure is not a realistic way to determine value. So few buyers understand this. An appraisal is not based just on taking a recent sale of an 1800 square foot home and using it to price a 3000 square foot home in a different housing tract. It's more specific than this.
And it is like comparing an apple to a pear. Oranges would be too understandable! Everyone understands why an orange is not an apple. They are very different fruits....one is a citrus and one has flesh, they look differently, taste differently and behave differently.
Pears and apples are similar in so many ways...just as our houses can appear. But location, amenities, perception all play into the value of the homes. A gated community home in one area of Mission Viejo, for instance, has quite a difference square footage from another only 1/2 mile away. Understanding the differences...especially if they LOOK the same online. They might! This is where the experience of a local Mission Viejo Real Estate Agent is critical. Your agent (me....as an example) can put the raw data into context.
We NEVER want to over pay for a home...absolutely never...but comparative analysis is complicated. Even in a good market, understanding the factors which differentiate one home from another is important. Now? With short sales, bank owned homes and equity sales...it's absolutely vital that a professional Real Estate Agent aids in gathering the facts on the property value.
Karen Fiddler
Broker/Associate
The Fiddler Realty Team/eVantage Real Estate
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