Stats aren't everything

Stats Aren’t Everything

If you looked only at the numbers, you might think my last two home sales weren’t particularly exciting. Both sold below asking price.

But the numbers don’t always tell the whole story.

Sale #1: We closed for $10,000 under asking. Sounds disappointing, right? Not when you know the context. The buyer’s agent was related to the buyer, and they chose to waive their commission in exchange for a $10,000 price reduction. The seller’s net was essentially the same — with a little tax savings — and they walked away with a fair amount of equity after owning the home for only a few years.

Sale #2: This one took some strategy. We made price adjustments along the way and ultimately didn’t get full price. But this was a three-bedroom in a community where three-bedroom units haven't been as common. We ultimately sold for at least $35,000 more than the previous two comparable sales. One of those had been an urgent sale and had been reduced significantly — ultimately selling for less than some two-bedroom units in the same community.  That's not a fun comp to have to plan around.  Receiving a price that was $35,000-$45,000 more than the neighbors is a huge win.

And we got it sold in less time than the community's average market time for condos.

So yes, the stats say both properties sold below asking.

The story says something very different.

And that's an important distinction in today's market.

We're in a period of market rebalancing, and that means price reductions and negotiation are sometimes part of the process. Getting “list price” isn't necessarily the same thing as getting the best possible outcome for a seller. 

Who you work with matters. So does having a realistic pricing strategy, understanding the competition, knowing when to adjust, and being willing to use some flexibility when it makes sense.

My job isn't to promise a seller that we'll get a particular number. It's to help establish realistic expectations before we list, understand the seller's goals and timeframe, and build a strategy around them — including a plan for what we'll do if the market tells us something different than we hoped.

Because at the end of the day, success isn't always about just the list price.

It's about what you net, how long it takes, the terms of the sale, and whether the outcome gets you where you need to go.

Sometimes the number on the MLS isn't the most important number at all.