I was informed last week that I won a pricing contest.
Late last summer my business partner and I were out on our weekly (new listings) tour when we came across an old farmhouse in East Wenatchee built in 1909. It was kind of a cool old house with 4 bedrooms, 2 baths, and 2432 square feet of living space and sat on a decent sized lot (.34 acres). It had been updated, but not overly so. It was comfortable but not fancy.
The listing agent was having a pricing contest. It was listed at $289,900 and she wanted us to put our business card in a bowl, with our guess at what the home would ultimately "close" at. The winner would get a gift certificate to the local restaurant of their choice.
I don't know what the other agents were guessing but I put $245,000 on my card and entered the contest. The listing agent gasped when she looked at my entry. I just shrugged and said that was my gut feeling, having just walked into the house (spending all of 5 minutes there). I suspected she would be surprised at my low guess. She almost seemed offended and, although I don't want to offend anyone, I was going to go with my best guess and hope to win the contest. My initial reaction was that it WAS overpriced. We were at the end of the summer selling season and entering a time of year when activity generally slowed down. The market felt softer, but activity was still good.
Anyway... the home lanquished on the market for quite a while and the original listing eventually expired. They probably purposely let it expire, so they could re-list it and have the "Days-on-market" counter reset, which it did. When it was re-listed the new price was $250,000. Whoa! Now we're getting somewhere. It still lanquished on the market for a while but did finally close last week at $250,000. I don't know if there were any selling concessions (closing costs, etc), which is very possible, and would make my guess of $245,000 almost dead on.
I am sometimes amazed at the amount of time spent doing official price analysis' (known as CMAs) for homeowners and, yet, when we walk into a house sight-unseen, we can immediately get a gut feeling for what the actual market value is based on overall current conditions. The computer data just can't keep up with, or take into consideration, all the market dynamics. Experience in the market is a key factor.
Have a great week!
For current
Wenatchee real estate news, info and trends contact the TOP Team:
Carol Williams
TopTeamCarol@gmail.com Shelley Granger
TopTeamShelley@gmail.com FREE search of all Wenatchee MLS homes and land for sale
FREE current
Wenatchee condo news, info and trends
Remember:
Information is FREE. Knowledge, Experience and Integrity Are Priceless
