Accurate real estate market reports are more essential than ever

When my past clients call me and ask me what their house is worth and I tell them
"If they can give me a couple days" they always ask, "can't you just look it up on the computer?" I have to tell them "No, that wouldn't be accurate information, you don't know what the true details of the sales are and in order for me to give you accurate information, I need to dig a little further than just clicking a mouse"

GREAT POST

I've seen a couple of posts recently on my area where agents stated x number of homes had sold or x number of homes were currently on the market.  Neither of the reports were even remotely accurate.  Why?  Because all they did was look in the MLS with a standard neighborhood name and grab whatever data they saw.  But the neighborhoods have multiple names or agents don't enter them in the computer correctly.  A buyer or seller relying on that data is going to be very dissappointed when they realize how far off it is. 

I think you hit the nail on the head. This report is a start and the details need to be looked at with your professional!

Merry Christmas!

your friend in Charlottesville!

Good recommendation. I need to see if our board pulls out the rentals. We are in the process of discussing the acuracy of the data. Good advice, regardles data is not always accurate it takes a Realtors or Appraisers eyes to give you the real scoop.

That's a lot of extra work for you.  Our mls reports the information separately;sales, and rentals.

Thanks for the post. This is helpful and I'll be sure to dig further into the my data for accuracy when doing a CMA for my clients.

great info, very helpful, I always find listing homes is the best indicator of a market, if it doesnt solicit any offers within 30 days it is priced too high

Our MLS separates sales and rentals. Would be interesting to see which number the local media uses when they report about your market.

That is true.  We do need to make sure all of our information is accurate.  Our board does not include rental property as a sold.  If it gets rented it is Withdrawn and Canceled off the market so it does not affect our stats. 

It is true that when you meet with folks these days they are often armed with a lot of data!

Thanks for your post and congrats on the gold star!

Debbie

Todd:   The "what is my house worth" question is certainly a question that can be answered off the top of our heads.  You and I and all the others that research and pick apart the details get to the true picture - not the illusion.  Our customers don't want illusions.  Thanks Todd.

Cindy:   You hit on another variable:  Not every home entered into our Multilist systems has been entered accurately.  One misspelling, one omission, and the "average" data is out of whack. 

Linda:   That's scary when an appraisor does that.  You're right Linda, if we don't dig deeper we're not giving our clients a true and accurate market report. 

Charles:   (I'm going to hijck my own blog!  LOL)    ----------------------------->

You look very much like my hubby, especially with your Santa gear back on.
Glad to see it!  You brighten up AR with your holiday look :-)

Missy:   I haven't checked Realcomp™, but I'm going to do that tomorrow.  I'll let you know if they report "sold" with the rentals closed also. 

Barb:   It is alot of extra work.  I worry that people cut corners...It would be nice indeed if the reporting was split up - rentals, true sales, etc.

Rebecca:   Doublecheck and make sure that your data isn't including rentals/leases in the information you see.   It's an eyeopener when you pull it apart.

Thank you to whomever featured this article.  I appreciate it very much.

James:   The number of homes on the market is an excellent indicator also of market value, but to get the nitty gritty of current market value the sold price data is wonderful.   Thanks James for your input, I appreciate it.

John:   There's the rub:  What is being reported?  Interesting.  Most of the newspaper reports quote sources from one of our local Multilist services.  I'm not sure if the spokesperson is stripping out the data that isn't really "sold".

Debbie:  I like how your board does it (marking it withdrawn or cancelled).  That really is a true picture then.  If you pull up sold you only get sold. Debbie, thank you for your comment and kind words.

Kris--The rough numbers are a good start but digging into the details is our job!

The biggest mistake I have seen during down markets as agent take solds as the market....when in reality, the sold was the market when the home went under contract.  If a market is dropping 1% a month, price it for next month.  This can mean about a 3% drop from sales from last month....and 4-5% from the month prior.  

Most agents don't do this and wonder why the home sits on the market so long as the market continues to distant itself from their pricing.........

Kris...

What a great post. Congraulations and of course I just have to say how much I love your new photo. You look Marvelous :)

TLW...ROAR!

OH...

And I forgot to say that you make me want to grow my hair back. This short hair leaves me really cold during the winter months. Maybe I should go hunting and get me some rabbit fur :)

TLW...ROAR!

Accuracy is very important -- only recently there was an agent who gave out publicly to the media some very error filled data. Boy did they look like they have no idea what they are talking about. So fact checking is a must.

Hi Kris,
You make some good points! Have you checked out the neighborhood reporting on Cyberhomes before? I think you will find the wide array of local market, economy, and people indicators extremely helpful for analyzing a market.  Also try pulling up one of your listings, then click the report button above the address.  That will generate a 17-page PDF report for your convenience. :)

I've done reports and then looked at other agents reports for the same area and couldn't figure out why our numbers differed....its strange that MLS and a standard search pull different numbers and can be frustrating to find the accurate data...

These are all good points.  I've been on listing appointments and gathered totally different info than other agents.  They were not using correct info.  It's all about being accurate.  Great point, not using lease data.

Kris, I have to say I've never heard of this and it's certainly good to know.  It will be a question I will ask if I should sell.  Thank you for the information and Congrats on your feature!

Very Interesting Kris ... thanks for the perspective.  pippa

That's interesting Kris our  mls system does not do that unless it was noted Sold by the agent inaccurately. But good call if that is how your MLS works.

Great post!  You definitely have to separate the leases and lease purchases from the "sold" homes.  In my area we have to make sure that we also FIND all of the home sales, as one agent may use "10th Street" and another "Tenth St"...   or "Eastlake" vs "East  Lake".

We started to experience that problem last year in Flint.  We tweaked the MLS system so that we have a Leasing Field and Leasing Rate.  We tweaked another field that says, for Sale or For Lease with a check box.

I helped tremendously.

Thanks for the reminder and suggestion for all that are just now experiencing what we are coming out of. (hopefully)

Kris:  In the Greater Greenville, South Carolina Area, we use the Paragon System which is really state of the art in MLS Systems and it gets updated & revised on a regular basis.  Although some are shown as rentals, our data pulls up Solds, Actives, Expireds, & Withdrawns, but I have never seen a "Leased".  I have also never seen a leased home that had sales price, price per sq. ft, etc in the summary page on comparables.  I will, however, ask our MLS Director how those are handled as that would skew the numbers to make sure they are not included. 

Good thought as data is critical.

One of the nice things about having several years of data on my own spread shit is that anomalies pop right out... fast.  I have run across a few anomalies.  I also see changes for the first month after data is published... November numbers aren't good until January for example. 

Very good points, but it sounds like a lot of extra work you have to do.  - Carla

Our data is separate for rentals and solds too. I totally agree with Cindy and Todd above, you have to dig and look deeper than just a push of a button. Agents enter things differently for the same neighborhood, if you check by map # some may have left it blank, if you check by city one says one name and the next one another - (still in the same neighborhood). Basically you have to cast a much larger net and start narrowing down, which is tedious but gets it done properly. And there still may be some that were missed. You do the best you can. ~Rita

wow that is so strange to me - none of our rentals are on our MLS - I am sure sometime in the future it will be but for now we do not have this issue - I can see how it would completely change the stats

I agree with this article.  Sometimes it's just so hard to find accurate information.  Hopefully at some point we will have more access to other records of information that are also updated more frequently.

I always look through the sale and lease data to make sure this info isn't included.  Z and other valuation sites with instant "sold home reports" are including trustees sales in their data too, which makes for skewed data.  To know your market is to love your market, as you do Kris!

Our MLS separates sales from rentals.  Your MLS sounds like it adds confusion, and it's definitely important that they be separated out for your clients to get accurate numbers.

Hey! Congratulations on the feature!! And you couldn't be more right!

Teri:   I carry around a little hand shovel when researching market value.  The digging around is an every day occurance :-)

Tim:   Great point!   Pricing a home at the market value it was 2 or 3 months ago isn't relevant now.  One day it may be, but not now. 

TLW:   Thanks hon  (photo is the same picture, just had fun with it on Picnik.com!  Took out the reddish glow to my face...no, wasn't drinking much, it was the lighting in the restaurant!)  I think I'll send you some pretty scarfs - they will keep your neck warm until you can get the ol shotgun out for your own rabbit fur collar :-)  (Do you have a pic of you with long hair?)

Bob & Carolyn:   Talk about egg on their face!   Another good reason to dig deeper and not speak (or type :-) unless you know the ins and outs of what you are researching.

Reggie:   I haven't checked it out yet.  Thanks for letting me know about it.

Sonia:   I've seen the same when I've read market reports from agents here on AR in my own county.  They differ at times and I couldn't figure out why.  Now I know why...

Elizabeth:   It would be far less confusing for the consumer if the leased data was stripped out right at the source, but until that happens we have to be vigilant. 

Carole:   If and when you sell your home you'll be armed with information to ask of the agents you are interviewing :-)   Your time here has you so well educated on the process!

Pippa:  You're welcome :-)

Heather:   Our MLS system reports it sold when it closes.  (Rentals and "sales")  Confusing as heck.

Kerry:   Same thing here..any variation in subdivision name or street name and it's out of whack. Fun!

Complete Real Estate:   For the active listings there are separate check boxes, but when they go off the market they're lumped in if they've closed to "sold" data, regardless.

Sheila:   It sounds like they have them separated, but pull your own report to be sure.  Look at the quick glance (how many sold, average price) then pull up the detail.  You should know quickly if you see the data is skewed by leased homes. 

Lane:   You're the numbers guy :-)   Having it all in your own spreadsheet puts you a whole lot of steps ahead of me!   I like what you do.

Carla:  It is alot of extra work, but we have to do it to be accurate for our clients.

Kenna & Co / Rita :   I like how you put it:  Cast a large net and pull in... Thank you.

Thesa:   You have me curious...if you have a seller who wants to rent his home, how do you get word out to the masses if its not in your MLS?

Ryan:  Our MLS is updated daily (actually, in real time) but the mixing of fields for data is the confusing part.  I agree with you - having the accurate information would bring much less confusion to the consumer (and to us!)

Renee:  I don't rely on those sites at all for sold data.  Like you, they are filled with numbers pulled from sources that just misconstrue the stats.  Thanks Renee.

Christine:  I've called and sent email about this before to our MLS and haven't had a response.  I don't know if it will be addressed after the first of the year, but I surely hope so.

Greg:   Thanks!  Good to see you.

98% of all statistics are made up.  ~Author Unknown

Excellent post--I totally agree that we have to delve a little deeper sometimes.  I'm just getting started compiling the November statistics for my market areas.  Will scrutinize them more carefully for sure.

Good for you....too many folks think that a cut and paste from MLS...not sure that is legal...is a "market report" oh not.....the extra mile is what propels your success...much of it to you in the new year !

Again...you are keeping us on our toes!! I am personally a very detailed person...and I believe that it is the details that set us apart from the competition. GREAT STUFF!! GBU~

This rings true with taxes as well in dealking with the title company estimating for closing!

The Realtor should have a firm grasp on what the buyers are going to need to be prepared for with taxes in mind in dealing with homestead / or new construction as well.

This is a great post all around Kris.

Keith Stonehouse

Janice:   That quote gave me a good chuckle :-)  Thanks.

Diane:   I'd curious to hear if your MLS also includes the rental data in the "sold" data.  Fill us in ok?  Thanks!

Sally & David:   That certainly is the easy way (what you described).  Thankfully most agents are professionals and wouldn't consider doing things that way.  Thanks :-)

Elizabeth:   You betcha :-)   The devil is always in the details...(don't know where that saying came from, but it does fit!)

Keith:   What you described is exactly how I conduct my business.  I get as much as I can for my buyers from their lenders (GFE), gather correct info from the city/township (current & projected taxes) and can have their costs down to within $100 before the package even arrives at the title company.  It's simply part of the responsibility of being a buyers agent.  Thanks Keith.

Kris,

We have the professional with all the details....no guess work....

Dan:   I wish ours was like that.

Kris - We can check what homes we want included.  I just uncheck those and I am good to go but you make a very good point!

Tami:   I wish we had that feature, it would make the detailed reports much more accurate for the consumer.