Can a Buyer Really Run Their Own Comps?
With all the online information, buyers (and sellers) think that they can do it all themselves. When it comes to comps, however, you really need to understand the rules and have full access to the data.
In addition to the points Chris Ann made below, it is sometimes hard to find out which properties sold FSBO and which ones had seller subsidies. All of these things factor into comps.
Can a Buyer Really Run Their Own Comps?
Got an offer on a listing of mine not too long ago that seemed...how shall I say...low. The buyer's agent, when I called
to discuss particulars of a counter, advised me that her buyers had run their own comps using Zillow. She told me which one comp in particular they were basing their offer on. The problem was, it was a sale that had happened nearly six month ago in a neighborhood where there were at least a half dozen comps within the last three months.
I'm sure the buyers in this scenario really thought, "I don't need to listen to my agent," when they found this comp online. Unfortunately, what they don't understand, that their agent does, is that agents (namely listing agents) and appraisers don't look at sales form six months ago if there are more recent comps. You can't cherry pick the ones you want from the last six months or year. You need to look at current comps because that is what everyone else is looking at in a market where there are a lot of sales.
Furthermore, your agent is going to look at the comps that really are comparable. They aren't going to pull smaller homes with smaller price tags. That's not an apples to apples comparison.
Technically, I guess a buyer could run their own comps using Zillow, but they should not do that. In the long run if they don't know how to find the most recent and best comps, most like the home the buyers want to purchase, they could lose the home they want all together. Writing an offer on a home is like making a first impression. If you are too far off the mark, sometimes the seller can get insulted and not want to work with you at all.
Chris Ann Cleland, Associate Broker- Licensed in Virginia, GRI, SFR, Northern Virginia Short Sale Specialist. Affiliated with Long & Foster, 7526 Limestone Drive, Gainesville, VA 20155. To contact Chris Ann, call 703-402-0037 or email chrisann@LNF.com. Or you can visit her website: www.nvarealestate.net.
Header photos taken by Chris Ann Cleland.
The opinions expressed in this post are those of Chris Ann Cleland, not those of Long & Foster REALTORS®.
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