How Much Did The House Sell For? Is The Deed Done?
September 3rd, 2008 Categories: A Realtors Life, Home Buyers, Home Sellers
How Much Did The House Sell For? Is it a done deal?
Simple Real Estate Question? ~ Complex Answer
The Question of How much did that house sell for, is a question that I get asked frequently. The answer to this question is really critical information for both potential Sellers and Buyers. Generally, the person asking the question is not asking for an in-depth Comparative Market Analysis (CMA).
Supermarket Analysis?
I’ve been a Main Line Chester County area Realtor® long enough to know that the follow-up questions are, What would MY house sell for or How much house can I afford? 
There I was, at one of my favorite markets, Trader Joes or Whole Foods with one hand on the broccoli and the other one on the Ben and Jerry’s yogurt.
Please forgive me if I hesitate a bit before answering the question. First, there are hundreds and hundreds of sold properties. As you can imagine, it can be a challenge to remember a specific sold price, unless it was my own listing. I’m always happy to provide information on properties that have sold and settled as soon as I can access the Multiple Listing Service.
In Depth Comparative Market Analysis CMA
It’s my pleasure to meet with you to talk in depth about the market and your questions about your property. Especially when I can be prepared with lots of good information to help you with a well thought out Comparative Market Analysis that includes:
- homes for sale, average and median sale $
- homes sold in last 6 months, average/median sold $
- days on the market/property marketing period DOM
- withdrawn properties
- expired properties
- months supply of inventory
- absorption rate
- your goals
- an aggressive Marketing Plan
How much did the house sell for seems to be simple enough question but the circumstances surrounding the answer are a bit more complex.
Fiduciary Duty to Buyers and Sellers – Confidentiality
Just a little background might help in understanding a Realtors® professional duties. If the property is “pending” and hasn’t settled yet, it’s a breach of the Sellers confidentiality for me to reveal the “sold” price. Also, not everyone knows this, but the pending price in the MLS is not the actual Sold Price, but only the last listing price before the property went under contract.
Buyers confidentiality – the Buyers contract offering price is never revealed as it would undermine the Buyers negotiating position. Agency Laws govern a Realtors® duty of confidentiality and fiduciary responsibility to their clients, which is just one reason why you want a Realtor to work for you as an Accredited Buyer Agent, working to protect you and your best interests.
Sellers confidentiality – Sellers information, like Buyers, is also confidential forever. Sellers are advised by me to tell no one “the number” until all contingencies have been cleared, just in case the worst scenario occurs and we need to find new buyers. Sold prices are only disclosed by the MLS and me after settlement.
In our current market, fall throughs due to financing challenges are not uncommon, even with a pre-approval. When a home comes back on the market after a fall through (and the sold price was revealed) it’s not surprising that the second offer to purchase comes in at exactly the same number as the first offer.
Everyone loves to talk about real estate but from the Sellers vantage point, until the deed is done, “Mums the word”.
