The "norm" for paying Realtors doesn't make sense. Apparently, I'm not the only one who noticed. So I ran an experiment for selling my house in San Francisco last week...
Hi Stewart - I'd be curious to know what you think Ted did to drive the price $600K above list, and how much was a function of a hot market versus agent skill/experience/process? I have observed that in the Bay Area the standard approach is to list low and get multiple buyers, whereas in San Diego the approach is to list high and give 5-10% off list.
Nisan: Most excellent questions. Answer: No way to know for sure. Hot market helps. Very experienced (second generation!) realtor. Great location (Russian Hill) but not cheap in an absolute sense. The discussion about listing price was cogent and based on recent comparables, so I don't think it was egregiously low. But Ted did REALLY stage the house: I had to let go of my emotional attachments, and the staging (renovation?) took three months... I think that was the key because the staged house did look better than before.
Hi Stewart - I'd be curious to know what you think Ted did to drive the price $600K above list, and how much was a function of a hot market versus agent skill/experience/process? I have observed that in the Bay Area the standard approach is to list low and get multiple buyers, whereas in San Diego the approach is to list high and give 5-10% off list.
Nisan: Most excellent questions. Answer: No way to know for sure. Hot market helps. Very experienced (second generation!) realtor. Great location (Russian Hill) but not cheap in an absolute sense. The discussion about listing price was cogent and based on recent comparables, so I don't think it was egregiously low. But Ted did REALLY stage the house: I had to let go of my emotional attachments, and the staging (renovation?) took three months... I think that was the key because the staged house did look better than before.