St George Home Short Sales
Don’t Shoot the Messenger
When it comes to determining the price of a piece of property, emotions are definitely a factor. Ironically, both the seller and the agent have the same goal in mind, “Sell the Property” the challenge is getting both seller and agent to agree on a price. The value of a home can be estimated by a process known as a CMA or a Comparable Market Analysis. This process looks at the homes sold in a given area, taking into consideration differences in the homes, how long they took to sell, the number of bedrooms and bathrooms etc. This is not an exact science, but it has been working for many years. Once the figures are entered into the computer, a suggested price is given. Ultimately the home owner is the person that sets the price they would like to sell their home for.
But All of Our Children Were Born Here
Because of the emotional attachment many people have with their home many people think their home is worth more than the comparables indicate. This is where the challenge of listing a home lies. The agent will not make a commission and the home seller will not be moving on until the house sells. As with any industry there may be some agents who will accept a listing for a price that is unrealistic. The home owner will usually end up reducing their price to get it sold anyway. The agent will sometimes even lose the listing, because they set unrealistic pricing expectations. As we mentioned in the previous paragraph, the CMA can get a pretty close estimate of home value. We are happy to help anyone desirous of obtaining a CMA, even home owners that would like to sell their home on their own.
Apples and Oranges
The biggest challenge in using a CMA is trying to find two homes exactly the same to compare to each other. This is obviously impossible as no two homes are the same. This then opens the door to what are known as adjustments. Adjustments are not an exact science, and are always made to the properties being compared to the home that is for sale, rather than the Subject Property or home being listed. There are times when doing a CMA that the agent must use a little discretion, and estimate the cost to add a bathroom, or a bedroom.