Zillow Advice: Home Q&A - 19K price jump for THIS house in just two years?

Thanks for your insight.

Wed, 17 Jun 2009 02:10:00 GMT

Thanks for your insight.

Gary- what I was looking ...

Tue, 16 Jun 2009 20:41:00 GMT

Gary- what I was looking for from you was comps- you know the magic
things that Real Estate Agents use to show a buyer/seller what has recently sold in the immediate area that would support your asking price. Just about every house in this neighborhood lately that is for sale has sat on the market for a long period of time while the agent and owners slowly lowers the price, bit by bit.

The asking price for this little, albeit kind of charming but not that charming now that the outside paint is fading, shoebox is one of the higher current asking prices among houses that are bigger and in comparable or better shape.

Values in this neighborhood have not been rising recently and instead homes are being taken off the market after not selling, or are being rented out.

I don't see that it is doing good for the neighborhood if every two years,
$10,000 in 6% commissions for realtor fees plus some sort of imaginary "profits" are tacked on to the "value" of an unremarkable house. This house hasn't at all increased in value, but it sure as heck has gotten a lot more expensive.

Thanks for your response. ...

Tue, 16 Jun 2009 02:01:00 GMT

Thanks for your response. I looked at the property that you referenced and realize that I actually showed that property to several clients, so I am familiar with that home. The city tax records indicate that the actual living space is 720 square feet. The seller had finished the attic, but you had to climb a ladder to access the space so it clearly could not be defined as living space. The home I have listed is 1061 square feet all on one level and the living space is the entire 1061. If you do the math you will see that the home you referenced sold for $203.47 per square foot ($146,500/720sf). The home I have listed is $176.18 per square foot. Obviously, a much better deal by comparison. Again, as I had stated before, this home was priced on a price by square foot basis and the home you mentioned clearly supports our price. Thanks again for your response and allowing me to explain how the pricing works. Since you live in the neighborhood I'm sure you support the efforts of the sale of your neighbors home and would like to see your neighborhood steadily appreciate to protect not only your investment, but the investment of your neighbor.

That is interesting. ...

Mon, 15 Jun 2009 18:10:00 GMT

That is interesting. Looking at the City's recorded sales, the highest priced comparable sale in this neighborhood was for $146,000 back in March. Where are the recent sales that support your $179,000
asking price? I am quite familiar with this neighborhood and in fact live
facing Byrd Park on Lakeview.

Also, if the last sale brough multiple offers and the price ended at $160,000- that means that $160,000 was the value of that house at the time. A house's value is what a buyer will pay for it, no more (and no less). Nobody was willing to bid up the price to $163,000, so obviously two of the multiple buyers felt that the "value" was not there at that price.

The home is comparitively ...

Mon, 15 Jun 2009 16:37:00 GMT

The home is comparitively priced to the other homes in the neighborhood on a price per square foot basis. The market has slowed considerably, but not all neighborhoods have taken a beating on price. Actually, some locations have had some appreciation. Also, when the current owner purchased the home it was listed by the owner, otherwise known as a FSBO or "For Sale By Owner". The homeowner had the home priced about $18,000 less than what it was actually worth which was very fortunate for my client, the purchaser. It appraised for much more than what she paid for it. As a matter of fact, the market was down substantially in 2007 when the owner sold the home and they still got 3 offers on it in a down market! I see so many "for sale by owners" price their homes inappropriately and most of the time they end up leaving money on the table, as in this case. That's why I think it is so important to use a real estate professional. If the previous owner had done that I think they would have come out much further ahead. I hope that gives you a better understanding of this property and what the market is actually doing. Also, you can't take what you read in the paper and hear on TV and compare it to all areas with a broad based brush. Real estate is neighborhood to neighborhood. It's all about location, location, location. Thanks for your question.