Realtors in the Ann Arbor Area need to STOP over pricing their listings.

Why the rant on overpriced  listings?

In our MLS as Realtors we can bring up in our MLS what is called a Complete View, in that complete view which is for Realtors eyes only it shows us what the listing price square footage of the house or condo is selling at. Here is an example of the complete Ann Arbor Area home MLS view on one of our listings. (We got an offer in 1 week, because it was priced right.

If you are selling a home in the Ann Arbor Area, in a neighborhood, most of the time you see a consistent square footage for each of the homes for sale in Ann Arbor.

For example: All the homes in particular neighborhood over the last 6 months SOLD for $112.00, $111.00, $115.00, $124.00, $129.00 per square foot and then you see a home listed for $143.00 per square foot, what would you think? Better yet, what do you believe an appraiser would do?

Yesterday I wrote on what to do if your Ann Arbor home doesn’t appraise? In the post I talked about the options available if the home doesn’t appraise.

One of the options was to get the seller to meet the Appraised Value so you would be able to get the financing.

Price the House Right in the Beginning

Absolutely this is the best thing to do; however it is better to price it correct in the first place so this isn’t an issue. Look, everyone thinks and wants their home to be worth more than their neighbors, but an appraiser and the listing agent shouldn’t look at it this way. First it is the Realtor’s job  to tell you the truth.

Standard of Practice 1-3

• REALTORS®, in attempting to secure a listing, shall not deliberately mislead the owner as to market value.

Second, if they don’t tell them the truth the appraiser will. Seriously, we’ve had Realtors tell us, “We’ll let the appraiser tell us?”

Homes for sale in Ann Arbor and surrounding area’s is not rocket science, you look at the solds, compare apples to apples, or in this case numbers to numbers and make a decision.

What do buyers look at when buying an Ann Arbor home for sale? 1) Location 2) Condition 3) Price 4) Amenities.

What do appraisers look at when appraising a home for sale?  1) Location 2) Square Feet 3) Finished or Unfinished Basement 4) Year Built 5) Garages

Funny, I have never in 17 years being a Licensed Broker in Michigan ever seen an Appraisal come back with a value for granite. If your home does not have a finished basement and all the comparable sold homes do, you have to deduct for that. Typically I see deductions of between 10,000.00 to 20,000 dollars on a finished basement vs a non finished basement.

As a Ann Arbor Realtor, I would rather deal with the price upfront, then wait until you are under contract, all inspections finished and then the appraisal come in low, wouldn’t you?

Call us today or look now for homes for sale in Ann Arbor.