Excellent post Carla!  No doubt that price is always high on the list for buyers and the best indicator of the right price are those homes that actually successfully SOLD in the past 3 to 6 months!  

love the graphic.  I recently got some "comps" with an offer.  I had to laugh as they were NOT like properties at all.  So I not only sent them back some Like comps with our counter, but also the recent appraisal (6 weeks) that showed comps as well.  We came to terms because that agent did share that info with her buyers.  "Like" comps is key to the process.

This is a great explanation for buyers on how we comp properties in order to help them establish the right price.  The only real comps are those sold in the same area within the closest time frame.

Hi Carla -- very clear and straight forward way to get this message across to buyers.  I love it when buyers and sellers want to use active listings as comps --- a home on the market is listed and sometimes that price may truly be wishful thinking.   Recent sales are the name of the game.   Nicely done.

This is a good approach and the only one that makes sense to me.  I agree price per square foot only tells part of the story.. You can have 2 house with the same square footage, but condition and upgrades are important when determining the "right price."

Makes sense. Some folks think that the active homes determines the price. I've told them at the end of the day it's what it sold for is most important. That fact will never change.

Excellent tutorial, Carla, about how to evaluate the price of a home that is listed for sale.

Carla,  After you have completed the CMA and determined if the property is priced right, it is imperative that Buyers understand that if they want their offer accepted, it must be in alignment with the comparable sold properties. 

Carla - I liked the way you have highlighted 'SOLD'. Even now, I see listing agents list property based on what is available in market as compared to what is 'sold'!

Carla I'm laughing as I read this because recently I had a buyer to make an offer on a property at a price that recommended based on comps.  The listing agent came back and said the seller would not accept anything less than full price.  I told her "okay" but that I had search to no avail to find comps to support it and that I just couldn't and I ask if she could send me comps.  First thing she said was that she had just sold a similar house in the area at similar price.  I guess she wasn't thinking that I was going to go straight to the MLS and look for it which I did and couldn't find.   Then the next day she sent me a history of homes she had sold ALL over the Metro Birmingham area as if they would suffice for comps for the subject property.  I was so speechless that I didn't even respond when she sent me the so called comps.

The moral of this comment is in total agreement with you: Not every similar home is a comp for a subject property. 

Carla, 

Pricing a list is so critical.  If one does price it high and hope it will fly with an offer, it's like buying a lottery ticket and "hoping" to win, the odds are about the same.  

Even if they buyer does bid higher than market value, they still need to be able to get a loan and through the appraisal process.  Recent market comparables are the best resource to base an offer on.  Crazy thing is appraisers and banks will think so too, even if the seller doesn't.

All the best, Michelle

Anyone looking to do Real Estate transactions in the Portland area MUST get a hold of this professional agent or risk unnecessarily...She makes Real Estating safe and sound Go Carla....

That is a very systematic approach Carla that your clients could only benefit from. .Have a great Memorial Day!