The Anatomy of a Property Listing

Have you ever wondered where the information that makes up online property listings comes from? Or maybe how you know that information is current or accurate? Or even if there’s a place to see a new listing before other buyers?

Well, it all ties back to something called an MLS.

The rise of the MLS

The content, format, and filing of listings are governed by multiple listing services, the more than 700 local organizations created to match sellers with buyers. MLSs were around long before the Internet, but the migration of real estate listings online suddenly gave them value as content.

The biggest web sites attract millions of unique visitors a month. The most attractive and most current listings attract not only home buyers but online peeping Toms, or “lookie loos,” who aren’t interested in buying a house but like to check out the interiors of their neighbors’ homes and ogle the digs of the rich and famous.

The Internet has greatly changed real estate, but the dominant role of MLSs remains intact. They are the foundational databases that all other real estate sites rely upon for content, from the big national sites like Realtor.com and Zillow to sites hosted by local brokers and agents.

In order to get your home listed on your local MLS, you must work with a broker who is a member. Today, in most markets, if you want to market your home yourself, you can get your home listed by a broker who charges only flat fee rather than a commission.

Listings as an art form
Writing listings is a fine art. The objective is to tell prospective buyers just enough to get then interested in touring the property but not so much as to disqualify it. Many times, prospective buyers will end up purchasing a property quite different from what they have in mind.

A good listing needs to draw them in enough to take a look at the property even if its size, price or location may not conform to what the buyer has in mind.

Listings are produced by the real estate agent representing the seller using a template designed to create content that complies with local MLS rules. The template includes the basics: beds/baths, square footage, lot size, age, utilities and appliances, school district, and more. A mini industry provides brokers with professional photos, “virtual tours” (still photos with a voiceover and music), and videos, which usually do a better job selling a house than words alone.

Obviously, you will see only the home’s features on the listing—not the next door neighbor’s messy back yard or the highway under construction across the street.

Timing listings

A particularly important piece of data is “time on site,” which is different than “days or time on market.” The former refers only to the days that have elapsed since the listing was posted on a particular site. It may—or may not—have been listed on the local MLS for a much longer.

Knowing how long a property has been listed is particularly valuable information. If it hasn’t sold in more than 90 days, that suggests the property might be overpriced for the market. The longer a property has been on the market, the more careful a buyer should be–but the stronger your bargaining position will be as well.

Most multiple listing services require that members release new listings to the service within a short time frame of obtaining the listing, usually 48 hours after signing up a seller. But before that, the brokerage may list the property on its own site, giving its customers a head start.

Getting the jump on other buyers

If you know where you want to buy, it’s a good idea to bookmark local brokers and check out new offerings on a daily basis. In recent years, a new tactic to let buyers know that a new listing is in the works before the home is ready to be shown called “coming soon” builds advance buyer interest in a property.

“Coming soon” is not a new idea. Real estate agents have been sticking “coming soon” signs in the front yards of their clients for decades, especially during sellers’ markets. Now on leading sites you’ll see complete listings marked “coming soon” to premarket homes up to 30 days before they are available to be toured or to accept an offer.

Targeting listings to reach buyers

Once on the MLS, listings can go many places, with the consent of the listing broker. First, the broker and agent listing the property have first shot at posting the listing, then the local MLS will make it available to other brokers and agents.

A number of MLSs have their own consumer-facing sites. MLSs also have agreements with the big national web sites like Zillow and Realtor.com to provide their listings directly from the database. Syndicators like ListHub work directly with brokers to place their listings on sites as diverse as newspapers, magazines, real estate franchises, and regional brokers beyond their local MLS. Brokers get feedback and can tailor their outreach to fit their marketing plan.

Online MLS listings are remarkably timely. MLSs on the large national sites are updated as frequently as every 15 minutes with new listings, sold listings and price changes. Web sites with properties that are not listed on an MLS, like “for sale by owner” listings or “pocket listings”, may not be as current.

Nowhere else in the world can you see so many properties for sale, displayed accurately and attractively. The Internet has truly put America’s real estate for sale inventory at the fingertips of buyers, making it possible for them to monitor virtually all the possibilities within a neighborhood and price range. Sellers now can reach not only a buyer in the same community, but also a relocating family across the nation or an investor actor the globe.

source: totalmortgage.com

5 Reasons Not to Use Your Sales Price to Test the Market

f you’re thinking about listing your property with a higher or lower price to test the market, don’t be too quick to make this move, as it can prove to be a costly mistake. Pricing your property incorrectly can turn potential buyers off for a number of reasons.

Consider these key moves to help you better understand the pitfalls you should avoid to save time and avoid making a big money mistake.

Sillol

When your home first hits the MLS, it’s fresh on the list of available homes and more interesting to a lot of buyers. That’s why you want to strike while the iron is hot. A buyer who wants to be in your neighborhood may pay a higher amount, but you won’t know if you’ve priced your home too low. For great price comparisons in your area so you know the going rates, check out Realtor, Trulia, or Zillow.

2. You can lose buyers doing internet searches

While a lower price might draw a few potential calls, you can actually turn people away if you price too low. They will want to grab a great deal, but a potential buyer who has done their homework might think something is wrong with a property priced too low.

As the owner, you can also lose buyers doing internet searches because they may not see your listing. Keep in mind that a home should have a competitive price. Sales prices that are dramatically lower might not show up in search results in the same neighborhood.

3. Your listing will get old

If you’re waiting for a buyer, you may end up finding that your property is sitting for weeks or months. And, if you’ve already moved, you still have to cover the mortgage payment. That’s another reason why you want to ensure you’ve priced it accordingly and work with an agent who can help you sell–and advertise–your property the right way.

4. The house won’t appraise

Another problem you can run into is with the appraisal. Price it too high, and the appraisal may come back lower and kill the sale.

Price the property lower than its true value, and it can raise red flags when you get it appraised, as it may get valued at a higher amount. Again, consider the perspective of a potential buyer who may not understand why you’re handing money away.

5. Agents who overprice sound good, but usually have a plan for price reductions

After pricing a home too high, an agent may try to compensate by lowering the price over a period of weeks. On MLS listings, this can make you look desperate A home with several price reductions may result in a buyer who lowballs you because they now think you’re desperate.

Simply find the best rate for your home. This can be done through the inspection, an estimate, or by comparing other properties in the area. The time you take to price your home correctly may help you sell it faster.
Bottom Line

Selling your home can be a time-consuming process, but pricing it right can help with offers. Focus on having a great marketing plan to give your home the visibility it needs, have a floor plan to give potential buyers when they see it, and up-sell the upgrades and improvements you’ve made. That way, you have an investment that future homeowners will see as their future home.

source: totalmortgage.com

LeBron James Sells His Miami Mansion for $13.4M

After playing for the Miami Heat for four consecutive seasons, LeBron decided to return to the Cleveland Cavaliers last year, listing his 12,178 square foot home in Miami’s Coconut Grove neighborhood for $17 million in October.

After the property sat on the market for a few months, its price dropped to $15 million in March before finally selling this past Tuesday for $13.4 million. The buyers are a married couple of real estate investors who had been leasing the legend’s pad since June.

The massive estate has six bedrooms, eight and a half bathrooms, a huge gourmet kitchen, a game room, a theater, and a wine cellar, just to list a few features. The King’s former home also has a master suite with an easy accessible private sun deck on the roof, plus glass doors that open to covered terraces overlooking the infinity pool and Miami bay. Don’t forget that the concrete dock has parking for two 60-foot yachts. A true estate built for a King.

source: totalmortgage.com

Snowboarder Shaun White Lists Home For $2.195M

Two-time Olympic gold medalist snowboarder, Shaun White, just listed his three-bed, three-bath home off the Strip in the Hollywood Hills for $2.195 million. White bought the home for $1.7 million back in 2009.

A long driveway takes you to the beautiful 2,036 square feet home. It was built in 1963, but just had major remodeling done to its interior. And with its contemporary style vibe, it fits right in with Sunset Strip.

The single-level home includes newly installed hardwood floors, an open living room, a gourmet kitchen, a massive master suite, a guest bedroom, and a den. Nearly every room opens onto an expansive outdoor deck with clear views of West Los Angeles.

The property also contains a two-car garage with an additional two-car off-street parking spots and a private pool. Check it out for yourself.

 source: totalmortgage.com

Most Properties Still Sell Below List Price

Even though the housing market appears to be on fire, 63% of properties actually sold for below list price, this according to the May 2015 Realtors Confidence Index Survey.

This may seem rather surprising, given how hot real estate has been over the past few years.

Ask anyone who has purchased a home (or attempted to) and they’ll probably tell you they got into a bidding war, or were forced to include a cover letter with their offer.

Despite that common tale, most properties don’t actually sell above list. In fact, nearly two-thirds do not.



However, this number has trended down lately. A year ago, around 70% of properties sold at a discount. So clearly properties are selling more easily at higher prices.

The Realtors said properties that remain on the market for a longer period of time are more likely to sell at a discount.

Some 84% of properties that sold between 2012 and May 2015 after 12 months were sold at a discount, per the Realtors’ monthly survey.

Meanwhile, less than half of the properties that sold within a month went for below list price. And nearly a quarter (24%) sold for a premium.

Properties that sold after 12 months only sold at a premium a measly six percent of the time.

In other words, price your home right the first time to avoid a price cut and losing money on the sale. Price it really right and you might sell for a premium.

As you can see from the chart below, the longer a listing stagnates, the lower the chance of it selling for list price or at a premium.

 

Surprisingly, 48% of properties listed for less than a month still went for below their asking price. So there’s always room to negotiate, even if the property was just listed.

And don’t worry about offending anyone – if you don’t offend them with your offer you offered too much, that according to a wise man…

In May 2015, it was most common for a property to sell for between 4-11% off list price.

A discount between 0-3% was the second most common outcome, followed by no discount or premium.

Very few properties sold at 20% or more off, and even fewer sold for 11% or more than list.

The Realtors noted that staging a property could help it sell for one to five percent more.

Zestimates Can Help with Pricing 

 

In a related article, the Zillow Research team threw out some pointers to help home sellers list their properties at the right price.

They said despite an improving housing market, it’s wise not to “overheat your listing price.”
Zillow found that properties priced more than 12% above their Zestimate are nearly half as likely to sell within 60 days.

And apparently the “sweet spot,” where homes sell the fastest, is between the Zestimate and six percent above it.

The company also discovered that smaller homes sell the fastest (those under 1,100 square feet) and that the optimal number of photos per listing is 16 to 21.

Your home may take longer to sell if you don’t provide enough photos. And as we know, that could result in a price cut. So take good photos and plenty of them.

source: thetruthaboutmortgage.com

Jinkee gives P. Diddy's mansion a thumbs up

MANILA, Philippines – Sarangani Vice Governor Jinkee Pacquiao gave the Beverly Hills mansion her seal of approval and hopes their family can move into the property in April.

Jinkee and the Pacquiao children arrived in Los Angeles yesterday where they had a reunion with Manny Pacquiao, who had a day off from training ahead of his May 2 showdown against Floyd Mayweather Jr.

The entire family visited the Beverly Hills mansion today, with the children obviously thrilled with swimming pools.

"The swimming pool is amazing," her daughter Princess Pacquiao said.

"Thumbs up," Jinkee said. "Approve naman. Okay lang maganda ang bahay talaga, maaliwalas."

Pacquiao has already signed the contract for the house and paid a downpayment.

"Tinatrabaho na," said the "Pacman."

The mansion originally belonged to hip-hop mogul Sean "Diddy" Combs, who owned in it 1998 back when he was still dating pop diva Jennifer Lopez. He sold it in 2001.

The property had a listing price of $11.9-M.

"Siguro madalas ang punta dito, kasi sayang naman ang bahay sa laki kung hindi titirahan ng matagal," said Jinkee.

Jinkee says they want to move in before the May 2 fight. "First week of April siguro if ever, para at least ma-enjoy naman 'yung bahay for a month bago pumunta ng Las Vegas," she explained. -- From a report by Dyan Castillejo, ABS-CBN News.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com