There are a lot of real estate agents. The NAR reports over 1.2 million members, and the Atlanta area alone has more than 40,000. It is hard to NOT know a real estate agent. Regardless of where I go and who I talk with, they know an agent. Today at the cell phone store, the clerk helping me has an agent for a Mother-in-Law. There are three in my small neighborhood. There are at least two at my son’s pre-school.
Real estate listings need a sign. They all have one, right… or at least most… But there is one problem with the ubiquitous real estate sign… it is boring!
Real estate signs aren’t an exception. I have long been tired of the same ol’ signs… so I decided to do something about it.
So… I looked for a solution. A sign that would stand out. I wanted something that would give an interested buyer a reason to stop and actually take a look.
I think this is a pretty good solution. The idea is to get a buyer out of the car… maybe even to take a picture of the sign.
Of course, as with all marketing, it will be tweaked as time goes by to be even more effective.
And as always, I’d love your feedback!
I know… most sellers at some point take a look at the ‘Zestimate’ that Zillow produces for their property. And there is almost always one of two reactions…
The bottom line is that if it is low, it must be wrong, and if it is high, then it must be right. It is pretty rare for someone to see a low valuation and think it could be right, or see a high valuation and think it could be wrong…
But let me tell you a truism… the Zestimate is wrong. Blanket statement. It could be high. It could be low. It isn’t dead on.
Here are the current levels of accuracy for the Atlanta Statistical Area…
Within 5% of the true value, 25% of the time.
Within 10% of the true value, 45% of the time.
Within 20% of the true value, 66% of the time.
Median error, 11.6%.
This is lifted straight from Zillow’s accuracy. For the Atlanta MSA, you are within 5% once out of 4 times… So, are you telling people that the just gave them a $400,000 valuation, and they have a 25% chance of the house being worth $380k – $420k? And a 10% chance of it being worth either $$360k – $380k or $420k – $440k? Or that there is a 10.5% chance of it being worth either $320k – $360k or $440k – $480k? Or a 34% chance that it is worth less than $320k or more than $480k?
Maybe you will let them know that about half of the time your $400,000 valuation is worth $446,400 or $353,600… since the median error is 11.6%
The thing is that the Zestimate could rise or fall by a significant percentage and still be within the range of error..
Now, I am not going to argue with Zillow’s national or regional data. It is likely to be much closer than the data for a specific property. The folks there argue (and I can’t refute them in any way) that Zestimates are as likely to be high as low and therefore cancel each other out and that for larger samples, they are quite accurate.
in fact, everyone that gives you an estimate of market value is doing exactly that… giving you an estimate of market value. Market value can’t be determined until there is a buyer… That was the previous post…
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Things have been pretty busy around here. We have been rolling out some new listings…
I don’t know why, but I was reminded this morning about two very different people, one quote from both, and how cheap sex is like real estate success… for some.
Back when I first got into real erstate, a local “power agent” told me that the goal was to list as many properties as possible. She said that I needed systems in place to spend as little time as practical for each listing, and to avoid spending money like the plague. Seriously. She was all in favor of spending money, but not on marketing property. Her quote was, “It is a numbers game, the more you list, the more you sell.” She didn’t care if the houses were over-priced, in bad condition… whatever. It was just a numbers game.
And then there is a ‘friend’ of mine from my early college days. He had a pattern… and it worked on occasion. At a party or a bar or a gathering, he would casually ask girls if the wanted a one night stand. And every once in a while… he would find one that said, “yes.” He told me that it worked out to about one in 50 or 75… It is a numbers game, don’t waste time getting to know people… ask and move on,” he said. I think it goes without saying that the girls that responded with a “yes” weren’t the girls that the rest of us were looking for…
In both case, these very different people weren’t looking out for the needs of their ‘target’. They didn’t care about the other person. An agent that takes an over-priced listing without reservations and then refuses to market it isn’t helping anyone… and someone that will have a fling with anyone that agrees to it obviously isn’t exactly responsible.
But their attitude was the same. It’s a numbers game. The goals, needs and desires of the client/target aren’t important. Don’t invest in the relationship. Meet your personal and selfish needs and/or move on.
I lost touch with the ‘friend’ decades ago. The agent is still listing property in the area…
Sorry, but I don’t think that is a way to effectively conduct business or personal life.
Is this a bit racy? Absolutely, but I bet you get the point…
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