FSBO Guide - Authorify

Guess what? He was correct: they did sell pretty well. Therefore, this neighborhood is the perfect statistical case study to prove that identical homes sell for different prices. In my presentation, I used Zillow listings for two houses from this neighborhood. The Zillow listings said the two houses were worth about the same amount of money, yet they both sold for very different prices. I might not agree with all of Zillow’s valuations, but I do agree that both houses seemed to be worth about the same amount of money. I researched why these homes sold for different prices. The only difference I could see between the two townhomes was that one was in better condition — and the agent did a better job marketing it. I was familiar with both properties because I used to live in this neighborhood. In fact, I lived right across the street from one of the homes that sold. Here is how to do the same kind of research in your marketplace. Look for a neighborhood where all the homes are very similar. Neighborhoods with condominiums and townhomes are excellent for this. Then you can meet with a seller and tell them: “Not all homes sell for what they are technically worth. Look, here’s a condo that sold on the sixth floor of this building for $450,000. A unit with exactly the same floor plan on the fourth floor sold for $498,000. That’s a 10.7% difference in price. They had a similar number of upgrades.” When you do this, the sellers are going to realize that real estate isn’t all luck — the agent you hire matters. There actually is a difference that the Realtor® can make. If you hire the wrong agent, it could cost you 5%, 10%, or maybe even 15%. You don’t need to geek out on data. Just show them a quick example. Look for the smoking gun on some good examples. Your examples don’t have to show extreme price differences, either. A 5% to 10% difference in price is adequate. Key Takeaways 1. To differentiate yourself from other agents, explain how you sold a home another agent could not sell. 2. Start by demonstrating that not all homes sell for what they are technically worth. 3. Identify two similar homes in a neighborhood that have sold for different prices. 4. Point out that these sales didn’t depend on luck. In each case, the agent made the difference. 5. You don’t need to demonstrate an extreme price differential — a difference of 5% to 10% is sufficient.