Zillow Strikes Again

When lamenting with Jane about yesterday's sale that got away, she asked, "Do you think someone will pay the $15,000 more for her house?"

The answer is no. There are four other homes within a half mile that are the same floor plan and are all priced at around $15,000 less than hers. None of them have anything less than what she is offering, and I believe one of the comparable homes even has a pool. The neighborhood is a cookie-cutter 2004 neighborhood with mediocre schools. It does not offer any sort of draw that the other six 2004 cookie-cutter neighborhoods adjoining this one has.

So, unless this seller is passing out gold bouillon with ever sale, there is nothing so significant about her house that will make a buyer gravitate to her home over ones which are priced substantially lower. In addition to all of that, the showing directions state the house is hard to see and the commission is lower. Good luck to both the agent and seller.

The agent is doing what the client wants. That is the agent's job.  The client looked on Zillow and took Zillow's word that her house was worth this ridiculous price. It is too bad, because the agent probably showed her real data instead of the Zillow number. The agent's true transgression is she was willing to take the listing over-priced.

What will happen is the house will sit. The client will be frustrated the house hasn't sold. The home will become stigmatized because it has been on the market too long. The agent will suggest price reductions, only to be told by her client that she (the agent) isn't doing her job. In the end the seller will take a low-ball, at-market offer and resent it. The agent will have spent more time and money to market this place (with a lower commission to pay for her advertising). The client will bad-mouth the agent for being "incompetent," and not give her any future business or referrals. Nobody will be happy.