Brian Brumpton, ePRO

Tammy,

I decided to look through MLS because, well, I like Christina and I found her answer both controversial and intersting. Interesting enough to look through the Treasure Valley's MLS system and see what the data refelected.

As far as homes in your specific zip code there were nearly 200 sold in the last 3 months. That's good news, homes are selling! The down side there are almost 630 single family homes available in your area. That puts the absorbstion rate (the length of time it will take to sell all of those homes) at around 9 and a half months. Keep in mind these numbers will vary as you narrow it down to more comprable homes. I'm giving you the big picture here. A good healthy market is an absorbtion rate of around 6 months.

So the thing that jumped out at me was the following line "Homes that are priced correctly AND have an increased commission sell (on average) 30% faster than those that are priced correct and offer an "average" commission." Looking at the data available in the MLS the homes in your area were offering a 4% commision actually took 44% longer to sell than the other on avearage.

This should tell you a couple things:

1. They offered the extra commission as an act of desperation not motivation (they didn't have the "AND" part of Christina's answer).
2. Price is king and all the other stuff marketing, incentives, added commision are just extras to drive them to get the job done faster.

Christina said it right if you'r going to offer extra commision to sway agents make sure it's priced right first so when they do bring a buyer the buyer sees it as a good deal as well. Don’t bother doing one unless you’ve already done the other. Remember as there is a lot of talk about commisions on this question that they are always negotiable and there is no such thing as a standard. - Sat Jul 19 2008, 14:30

You can offer a buyer's agent all the incentive in the world and in the end it's the Buyer's who make the choice. It may increase traffic because agents looking to make an extra buck will show the home more often doesn't do anything for the buyer. I would look at Buyer incentives before offering more to their agent. - Fri Jul 18 2008, 11:38

Tammy,

Susan is right, even though you lowered the price you may still be outside the market. When was the last time your agent pulled the comps? I'm talking recent ones no more than 3 months old. You should be looking at those every 30 days. In 4 months you should have been advised of the comps 4 times. Once before you listed and once a month there after.

There's a real possibility that you missed the mark on where the home should have been priced up front. If you started high hoping to have room to negotiate or missed the mark due to inaccurate comps even with a reduction to where the home should have been priced initially you're still behind the market. The Treasure Valley is moving backward right now. You will save more money by finding the true market value and getting below it ASAP.

When you are behind the market you're going to lose more money the longer you keep holding out. It is true in this market that the one to make the biggest price reduction first will make keep more of their hard earned equity. You really need to look at good comps, I can't stress that enough. Know where the market value for your home is and how long it is really taking to sell those homes. If you're at or below market value and you have not exceeded the average days on market then it is just a lack of buyers and you just need to give it a little more time.

And a little hint about days on market. There are a few agents in the valley who try to be clever and cover it up. Make sure you agent is pulling accurate data. Not even the cumlative DOM (days on market) always work. Once you have good comps you often end up having to comb the MLS to make sure the agent didn't try to hide anyting. - Sat Jul 19 2008, 13:57

Apparently Christina and I are on the same page and writing at the same time. - Mon Jul 14 2008, 10:31

Nai,

You probably do have a contract in place. I would be surprised if you didn't. You should check with your parents and get a copy of it if one exists. Also, have you or your parents had a discussion with the current management company about why they have had a property sitting vacant for so long? You may uncover a host of reasons that have not been considered.

There are many multi family units being completed right now and probably some pretty enticing offers to get them filled. Meridian is also a tough one depending on where it is at. There is a ton of traffic congestion there due to the amount of growth. I would check to see what other similar sized units are renting for. Your current management company should be able to provide this data for you. - Mon Jul 14 2008, 10:29

Nai,

I would say there may be something missing there. The rental market has been picking up steam. However home prices have been in a decline for the period of time you've been vacant. That has started to bring buyers back to the market.

How are your rents in comparison to what the same square footage can be purchased for? Another piece to consider is with gas pricing going up more and more people want to be closer in to Boise to cut down on the cost of the commute. - Mon Jul 14 2008, 06:51

Sue,

I know you do. I was just giving you a hard time. I like your website by the way. Good stuff incorporating the statistics. - Fri Jun 6 2008, 14:30

Reed,

I have to agree with Sue, a good agent should know the area. A good agent familiar with area would know that state street is a five lane road in front of the house. Now a great agent would also know the area well and would have taken the time to investigate knowing that there is an inlet on State Street that gives the houses there another street between them and the main part of State Street. A great agent would give you a link to see for yourself: http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&q=2430+W+State+St,+Boise,+… Oh the marvel of technology!

I really hope Sue and the rest of the agents don't take my having some fun on Trulia personal. Agents not all but some just need to come around to the idea that we garner about as much respect as a used car salesman. There is no point in trying to hide information in hopes of generating a transaction. Give people what they ask for, do what you say, sometimes more just never less (thanks Floyd) and realize that real estate is a customer service business. That's my piece and Reed thanks for posting this question and for your continued interaction. - Fri Jun 6 2008, 10:54

Reed,

Apparently the inside scoop isn't all that hard to find in the MLS either. An agents worth is not measured by the ability to withhold information as much as their ability to find it. The MLS number if you want to review the north end home is 98356737. Drop on to a website like mine or any other with an MLS search and pop that number in. Presto! Not a bad home for the money. - Fri Jun 6 2008, 08:42

Reed,

Let me see if I can give you an answer to your question instead of falling all over myself trying to get you to call me so I can sell you a house. The average asking price for your range in NW Boise over the last six months is $203,921. The sell price is nearly 99% of list price. Looking at that the better option is probably going to be to ask for seller concessions.

The numbers that the MLS has access to due not show the details of the transaction. I'm willing to bet if I were allowed to review the contracts of the 14 homes sold in they area over the last six months that there were considerable seller concessions. The reason being is a seller will usually give you one or the other. In most instances you can't have your cake and eat it too.

If you'd rather have more equity in your home from the start, offer a lower price. If a lower payment, seller paid closing costs, or an interest rate buy down is what you're going for then ask for seller concessions. I do hope that helps to answer your question. - Wed Jun 4 2008, 08:18

Reed,

There are 72 homes based on your pricing criteria. Actually I used a range of 175-215K. The average price is $195,750 with an average of 70 DOM (days on market). Inventory has started to climb again and sales year over year are down by around 8% for Ada County in April.

So you should be able to find a deal depending on how stringent your criteria are. Remember if you are dead set on very specific on home features your prospects for a good deal become self limiting. Overall it’s probably going to remain a buyers market for the rest quarter and possibly the next as the last big set of subprime mortgage adjustments for the year hit in June or July. - Thu May 22 2008, 11:16