Have you ever wondered about the practice of using sold listings as comps? Intuitively, it makes sense. We should price things based on recent history. Sounds legit. And to be clear, all agents have to do it. As a data-driven person, I want to know what sold comps are. But the reality is that sold comps are backward-looking.

As a negotiator working on behalf of my clients, though, I’m marketing a property in the context of a market that exists at a very specific place and time. And that’s not yesterday, it’s today. Context is everything.

Buyers are looking at what’s available right at that moment. So while I agree that the best practice is to price properties slightly under the market, the real question is “what is the market?” The market is what sellers are asking, not what they were asking in the previous 3 to 6 months, or what they got in the previous 3 to 6 months.

This is just something to consider as you’re thinking about listing your house. Do you want an agent to represent your interests based on today’s market, or should they be pricing and negotiating based on yesterday’s market?

You choose. Then call me.

Kevin Harper
Delta Land LLC
208-249-8893