David Richardson

As a product of Kent County Schools, I have excellent math skills .....without the use of a calculator. You may not be aware that computer software does most of the calculations for Realtors these days........
Realtors don't set the prices - the market sets the prices. A Seller might have a figure in mind and might ask it. Only the market conditions will determine if he/she gets it. Of course, they could hope for an unrepresented buyer.... statistics provided by Atlanta Board of Realtors suggest buyers going it alone pay between 5% and 16% more than those represented by Realtors.

NC Penguin

I looeked at zillow.com and I think it proved to be rather inaccurate for my neighborhood. The values on houses were from the tax appraised value which is actually out-of-date for my city (city tax appraisals haven't been done for at least five years I believe). The homes in my neighborhood have appreciated so the zillow.com figures are not meaningful.

NC Penguin

Your last comment is interesting but irrelevant because the OP lives in California, not Georgia.

Ray

Whereas Florida has dropped maybe up to 20% this last year or so ...

You may have noted a report that said best place to sell and best place to buy finance wise was NC to FL.....

David Richardson

I have taken greatcare throughout this thread to let readers know I was speaking of GA RE issues only. I have no knowledge of the CA market at all. Whilst the example I gave does not apply to CA, I imagine there could be similar circumstances there also.

scrubbedexpat099

We get the same marketing blurb by Realtors in CO.

One thing that is not State specific.

Big big difference between being able to understand numbers and being able to press the buttons on a calculator.

scrubbedexpat099

Actually this quote is a classic example. I find it hard to believe they have any statistics, I would put a small sum on the whole thing being fabricated, if betting was not illegal in Colorado.

To be fair they use the get out word suggest.

But basic logic suggests that if there was a range it would go from a minus to a plus. I am sure there are plenty of buyers out there who are more than capable of driving a hard bargain, even if we assumed they could do no better that a Realtor, they would have a 2.8% advantage in my State.

We had a Realtor when we bought, we decided the offer amount, we were up against 2 others, one of whom bid list, the other less 3%. We bid list plus a couple of grand.

I can only think of one House we saw that we were interested in over the period of a year that was 5% or more away from the price it sold for. That guy I think was not a serious sellor, he would have taken the money if he could have got it.

David Richardson

[QUOTE=Boiler;5154853]Actually this quote is a classic example. I find it hard to believe they have any statistics, I would put a small sum on the whole thing being fabricated, if betting was not illegal in Colorado.

To be fair they use the get out word suggest.

I'm getting a vibe from you.....you don't like Realtors, do you? You seem ready to throw the baby out with the bathwater. Let me give you a great example from my own neighborhood in Atlanta. We had a contemporary house in our neighborhood on the market for $995,000. It was overpriced especially as contemporary houses are just not popular in Atlanta. It was built in the 70's when there was an attempt by builders/developers to build homes of this sort. A family came down from a Northern State and paid the asking price for it without consulting a Realtor. Their basis for doing this was that it looked like a bargain to them based on prices in their home state. So they overpaid by at least $200,000 IMO and will have to stay there for many years to have any hope of gain. The listing agent represented the seller and got both sides of the transaction. A Realtor to represent their interests as buyers would have cost them nothing but in this case would have saved them plenty.

Giantaxe

Hmm, but doesn't basic economics tells us that a house is worth what a willing buyer would pay in an arm's length transaction? Why would that price be higher if the seller was using a realtor?

scrubbedexpat099

In Colorado the usual Realtos fee for buying and selling is 6%, say $30,000 on an average $500,000 transaction.

So from a sellors perspective $500,000 with a Realtor is the same as $470,000 without.

Sally

Even more in California where selling prices are higher. But I can see both sides in Angelman's case. He will be spending a lot of money and should be sure that everything is right.

David Richardson

[QUOTE=Boiler;5155504]In Colorado the usual Realtos fee for buying and selling is 6%, say $30,000 on an average $500,000 transaction.



Readers might need a breakdown lest they think the Realtor is getting all the cash. It's 3% to each side - the listing agent and the buyer's agent. Then it's split with the broker - say ReMax. This often means a 60 -40 split depending on your status. It can be higher but the majority of Realtors at full service brokers average 65 - 70%. The rookies and the part-timers (tons of these) might get 50 - 55% only. The top producers are capped around 85%. In addition, Realtors pay desk fees and incur charges for their share of office technology and voice mail etc. At some RE Franchises this can be as much as $1500 per month whether you have any closings or not. Bear in mind also that the Realtor pays out of his or her own pocket for print ads, email blasts, cost of agent caravans, Open House and other marketing expenses incl travel costs. Fees from the local multiple listing services are paid off the top too. Small wonder that more and more Realtors are becoming buyer's agents only . Listings can cost you most of the commission if you properly promote them and don't get a quick result. I recently had a listing for 8 months and I was the 3rd Realtor to list it - the other two had it for 4 months apiece. I promoted it fully and did at least 8 Open Houses. My cut on the $449,000 sale price was a little over $7000 at closing and I had probably spent around $2500 in the marketing area not accounting for my time/ travel.
Yes, we get lucky with a quick,easy sale sometimes but most of the time to paraphrase G.W.Bush "it's hard work"

Ray

Hang on!!! I got tears rolling down my face .....

David Richardson

Ever the curmudgeon, Ray.

NC Penguin

[QUOTE=David Richardson;5156479] I hope the OP finds your post interesting...