More Real Estate Miscellany

Some thoughts that deserve sharing. The measure of how many days a listed property is on the market before sale is an important factor in determining value. That an MLS may choose two different time frames, (either one or the other, not both) never entered my mind until the appraiser I hire in my mortgage business told me that the format had been changed by my MLS. This was a couple of years ago when the market was first showing some signs of stabilizing in our area. Previous to the change the measure was from listing date to close of escrow on the sale. A reasonable measure since to the seller the period from listing to money in hand is the important time span. After the change the measure is from date of listing to acceptance of offer. Not the same thing at all since escrow periods generally range upward from 30 days to 45/60 on average, to 90 on the long side. This little accounting change paints an entirely different picture of the same event. Just as an aside for why my appraiser was concerned. They make a value representation to the lender that predicts the likelihood of a sale at that price within a predicted time frame should the lender have to take possession. If the previous "days on market" figures aren't realistic then the prediction isn't either.
Another issue altogether which is now appearing in some markets is the tactic of agents withdrawing a listing which is about to expire, then re-listing the property. This effectively starts the "days on market" count all over again and conceals an important fact from the prospective buyer. Our MLS has warned members that the practice is fraudulent and should be avoided to avoid lawsuits. I applaud the warning. The reason for not doing it however should be simply because it's dishonest, not to avoid lawsuits. As a buyer you can protect yourself against this practice by insisting that your agent provide you with an MLS history for the property. This history will reveal all appearances of the property in the MLS system, whenever they took place.
Another MLS item. Just yesterday I learned that our MLS, through a committee decision, has decided to end the sale of real estate forms to non-members. This decision apparently came about to try to place impediments in the path of those of you who are attempting to sell your own homes without an agent, or to interfere with the flat fee crowd who get property on the MLS but then don't offer any service other than that. This behavior is probably going to be about as successful in holding back the winds of change as drilling a second hole in a leaky boat to let the water run back out. We all know that ultimately the consumer will triumph, so why not do the right thing from the beginning and help the consumer to triumph? This is a form of short-sightedness that ophthalmologists cannot address. A shame really. Our office believes knowledge empowers, and for us to be a meaningful help, we need you informed. To that end we offer links on our site to realtytrac.com, homegain.com, and zillow.com. If you want other information feel free to call us and ask. If you have suggestions for improving our site, please offer them. If you want to do it all by yourself, do so by all means. We don't think you need a real estate professional to tell you to trim your roses, mow your lawn and dust the furniture to make your house presentable. If you want a full service broker to help you in the marketing and sale of your home, or the purchase of a home, which we recommend naturally, since that's what we do; compare services and price, interview and ask questions, then choose accordingly.