MLS data can be flawed and may lead one to the wrong conclusions.
In Marketing pieces Realtors often find a way to be number one in their area. For example I could be the number one broker in local condo sales…with a foot note * sales closed in the second quarter on listings priced between $200,000 and $250,000 in a give town. Is it misleading or is it correct – well it’s both but I could defend the assertion.
Bigger issues arise when laziness creeps into the required reporting data.
I recently read a “newsletter” suggesting that over 50% of all area sales were cash transaction. Where did that data come from…the MLS report, so what is wrong with that…you may ask? I took a sample poll on that subject the results will most likely not surprise you when you think about…who enters the “DATA”. Office assistance are often tasked with closing the sale in MLS and when the selling agent isn’t available or simply doesn’t know or care about the paperwork after he/she is paid…the assistant takes the easy route. *example: Required input to close the sale “name of the appraiser, phone number, lender name and so on…Wouldn’t it be easier to say it was a cash sale and move on to the next required fill in the blank? You bet it is!
Does the MLS check to see if there was a mortgage after it is recorded…no they rely on the data input reported.
I recently had a buyer’s agent try to make her case for an offer based on a price per square foot (on closed sales) data entry. Well one house was 100 years old while the other is 10 years old...and many count square footage in the “basement’ while most appraisers do not. So Data can be skewed and used to make what ever point you seek to make.
Share your MLS data that can easily skew the assumed correct data.
Comments(10)