CHAPTER 5
THE 80/20 RULE Imagine a buyer is in the market for a 3-bedroom home and his agent found him five houses to preview. Each meets his
general criteria, with similar features, are comparable in price, and are located in
his desired area. One would assume the buyer would have a difficult time deciding between the houses. No matter how similar they may seem, no two houses are exactly alike.
This is where the 80/20 Rule comes into play. Let’s say that one out of the five houses has a pool. The buyer is unaware of
this feature, however, because the agent didn’t mention it. The buyer tours the four houses without a pool and isn’t particularly interested in any of them. Then he sees the fifth house with the pool. Suddenly, he is ready to make an offer. He may even pay full asking price, even though this house is more expensive than the others. THE 80/20 RULE IN ACTION: BUYERS FOCUS ON UNIQUE FEATURES. This buyer’s offer isn’t based on the 80% of features this house shared with the rest. Instead, his bid is based on one unique attribute: the pool. The 80/20 Rule predicted the sale of this house. Unfortunately, a lot of time was wasted in finding the perfect house. Had the agent known to look for the 20%difference, this may have been their first stop. As a seller, you can leverage the rule to work in your favor. Draw attention to defining characteristics in your home.
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