Quote:
Originally Posted by GoodLife
Are you serious? Doing a market analysis is a complete waste of time? I have purchased a lot of properties and have never paid the asking price.
From this we can conclude you have never purchased a very desirable property that had multiple offers at or above the asking price.
Knowing what the seller paid is very valuable information to determine how much to offers for it. This is also the basis used by every real estate agent who determines how much to list the property for.
Wrong, competent Realtors/Appraisers do not compute market price by what owner paid, they look at current comparables, upgrades done to home, lot and view etc. Price paid by owner has nothing to do with comparative market analysis.
It is also important to know how much other houses on the same street sold for which is also available on the Sumter web site. Also, how long has the seller been trying to sell the property and why they are selling it are important things to know.
Prices paid for similar properties in the area are important, but not the end of story. The same exact floorplan next door might have sold for x amount, but the property for sale might have $100k in desirable upgrades. You are not going to buy them for the same price. Reason seller is selling is irrelevant to market price. Do you think price should be lower if sellers wife got cancer and he no longer needs bigger home?
I am going to take a wild guess here, and bet that when you are the seller all this goes out the window.
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Yes, I have never paid asking price because I don't think it is a good idea to buy a house in a seller's market where there are multiple offers.
Agents price houses based on current comparables, but that analysis can include the house being sold if the seller has not lived in it for a long time.
Most experts will tell you not to buy the most expensive house on the street, so it is important to know what the other houses on the street sold for. I have seen some houses in The Villages that are priced $200K above any house on the street because of too many upgrades that are overvalued by the seller.
You are correct that why the seller is selling does not affect comparable market value. I don't mean to be insensitive regarding your cancer comment, but when a seller needs to sell for any reason, they are more likely to accept a lower offer. That is just the way the market works, and knowledge is power.
And, yes, when you are a seller, you try to get a high price, and when you are a buyer, you try to get a low price. This thread is about using the Sumter County public information to buy a house, not to sell one.