Be Careful!
In the example here, the most recent listing on FMLS (and the one that shows the property as SOLD) indicated that this property sold in 12 days at 95% of list price. So what’s the problem?
The problem is… the property originally listed for $3,550,000 and went through 3 listing cycles for a total of 124 days on market. The $2,800,000 sale price ended up being 79% of the Original List Price.
This is more common than you might think – especially in the higher price points where homes can take longer to sell.
In the case of the above situation, one could easily craft a selling strategy based on an expectation of only having to negotiate 5% off the price and that the process will go quickly. Only to have your plans crash into a different reality… Sadly – one that could have been anticipated by a local expert who watches the market activity on a daily basis.
Savvy or Sneaky
There are various ways the running history of a listed property can get disconnected. One possibility is when directional letters get added to the end of the street name. For some systems that can cause the address to be interpreted as a different street name from the original one used – thus resetting the original list price and start date as if it was a different property. While adding directional letters may technically make the street address more correct or accurate, this can also be gamed by listing agents to try and hide the previous history when a listing languishes.
Here is where Zillow may help… their system caught 2 of the 3 listing cycles on this one. Evenso, they missed a 10 day listing period in the middle. The history above also does not show the withdrawals and re-list dates. Those just show up as price changes.
Advice for future Sellers
If you are a prospective Home Seller doing your own research and interviewing agents, there is a lot at stake here! Please make sure you are basing your strategy on what really happened.
Spend some time to identify a few specific properties that are truly similar to yours in location, size and features. Then dig deep to make sure you know their full story.
Nuances matter so we recommend talking to a local expert who knows the inventory of homes well. They will know what is selling and why those homes sell when others don’t. Local experts will also know why some homes sell for more money than others. Success leaves clues; so does failure.