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This month, I’m writing about the stories associated with list-to-sell ratios, what buyers want and how sellers need to calibrate and prepare, differential diagnoses, AI, and a tip about learning about where you might live. As ever, it’s longer than I expected, and I hope you like it. Have a question? 434-242-7140

 

List-to-sell ratio and productivity

List to sale ratio is an oft-referenced number when evaluating pricing strategies and agents’ effectiveness.

A few months ago I wrote about one client who asked how many transactions I’d done in the preceding 24 months. 53 was the answer. Productivity matters: the more you do, the more you learn.

Two potential sellers have recently asked about my list to sale ratio. This is part of my response:

I’d be happy to go through each one, because each has a story and a reason for selling for what it did. A sampling of the reasons and background:

  • One sold for 115% of asking price. I’d love to take credit for that, but that particular market segment was much hotter for that particular product than we thought; the data and comps said the list price was the right one. My clients also did everything I asked them to do from a preparation perspective. The market said that the house was worth more than we thought.
  • One that sold for a few points under asking got an offer the day before we activated, and my clients got nearly a year of rent back for free. I’d say that the few thousand under asking was more than worth the ability to build a house while living rent-free.
  • One of the 15 that sat for longer was a condo at a time when condos were hard to sell.
  • One that sold for just under would have gone for more had we started lower – we had 27 showings with one offer that escalated to much higher than ask, but we had only one offer, and we negotiated a fair price.
  • One came on in December, which is a slow time, and still sold for over 97% of ask.

If you average the ones who listened acutely to my advice, my average list to sales price is 102.19%.

Every house — whether I am representing the buyer or seller — has a story and a reason for why we ended up where we did. Just as every buyer and seller have different reasons, motivations, and lives, every house and situation is different.

 

What Buyers Want

They want a house they can move into. No work, maybe a cleaning.

My buyer and seller clients have heard this from me:

Many, if not most, buyers in today’s market don’t want fixer-uppers, because they don’t have the time, the money, the skill set, or the desire to fix up the home. They need/want to clean and move in.

Estimating the cost of work is more and more difficult, especially now in the world of tariffs and uncertainty.

Note: 3 out of 7 sets of buyers who came through a recent open house said that the uncertainty being inflicted upon Americans was making it nearly impossible for them to make good decisions.

Related: Nest Seller’s Advantage

 

It’s our anniversary/ Why AI Isn’t There (Yet)

It’s Our Anniversary/ Why AI Isn’t There (Yet)

I booked flights, but didn’t look closely enough. I called the airline, and they tried to funnel me to their automated department or online. I waited. And waited. And waited.

I spoke with a woman who listened, laughed at (with?) me, and worked to find a solution. She did.

At the end, I thanked her and told her that it meant a lot, that no amount of AI could have heard the desperation in my voice and my stress at having screwed up, and applied empathy to helping find the solution. She appreciated my saying that.

Humans need humans. And real estate is no exception.

 

Witnessing a Differential Diagnosis

I had the luck and privilege to watch two clients who are doctors perform an in-depth (to me) spontaneous differential diagnosis. They threw ideas at each other, shot them down, did quick research, looked at the medical data and test results, threw more ideas at each other, and talked through possible diagnoses.

At one point I joked, “It’s like I’m watching House!” And my client said, “No! He always has the right answer; sometimes we don’t.”

I tell this story because sometimes I need to consult my colleagues about pricing, staging, marketing, preparation. While I’d like to think that more often than not, I have the right answer, when I don’t, I’m not afraid or ashamed to ask for help, guidance, or to throw ideas at a colleague.

I’m better for it, and so are my clients.

One of my favorite pictures in a while, in part because I just turned my phone behind me and flippantly took a quick shot. Something about the shots you don’t take …

 

This is it. Maybe not.

What are you going to do now that you’ve mostly achieved what you wanted? Life is stable-ish. What’s next?

 

What is a pool worth?

As ever, the answer begins with “it depends.”

Question from a client: \ What does a nice fiberglass in-ground pool do to your home’s value in terms of resale, etc.? We are considering putting one in.

My answer: For those who want a pool, it increases the value, and for those who don’t, it decreases it.

Short answer: If you’re going to enjoy using it for several years, I’d do it. Making improvements for others vs. for yourself are different calculations.

Another example: I recently represented sellers who had made extraordinary updates and renovations to most of their home, with the intent of being there for decades more. Then life happened.

You know what? People -— buyers and agents — could tell that the improvements were made with the intention of enjoyment vs. selling. And my clients benefited when they sold.

 

What is it like to live here?

I’ve said for decades that if you’re moving to the Charlottesville area, you should rent first.

I was talking to clients recently who live in the City and are discussing moving to the 29 North area (this 2007 map is old but relevant). Their life is in the City of Charlottesville; they don’t know what life in the 29 area is like.

I suggested they get an Airbnb for two weeks (or more) and pretend like they are living there: groceries, coffee, work, daycare, etc. I like that idea.

I’ve now made this suggestion to three different clients recently, two of whom live locally. To the non-locals, I suggested getting an Airbnb (or VRBO, or FurnishedFinder) for a month in each part of the Charlottesville area. I like that idea too.

I think I’ll keep suggesting it, when appropriate.

The May Reddit AMA was a fun one. Several of these will become blog posts/topics.

 

What I’m Reading

What I’m Listening To

 

Next month:

  • IDX, coming soons, pocket listings, fracturing and fragmentation of home search.
  • Talking buyers out of making an offer.
  • Short sales
  • Home sale contingencies making a comeback?

 

Thank you for reading, and sharing!

~ Jim – 434-242-7140

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