THAT Sure Went Fast (Too Fast??)

"Now You See it . . .
Now You Don't"

In a post last month, I posed the question, "Did the Seller Leave Money on the Table? Four Ways to Tell."

That post came to mind as I scanned the particulars of 2900 Chowen Ave. South, which came on MLS this afternoon -- I'm not kidding -- as "Active" at 1:45 p.m.; was switched to "Pending" at 1:47 p.m.; then was switched from "Pending" to "Closed" at 1:49 p.m.

Total elapsed time?

Four minutes.

Sale Postmortem

Well, at least other Buyers (and their agents) had a "heads up" that 2900 Chowen was coming on the market, right?

Wrong.

I can only speak for myself -- but I live 2 blocks away, have sold over a dozen properties worth $6 million-plus within a mile, and have an extensive local network of contacts.

And I didn't hear a peep.

OK, so at least the Seller got a good price, right?

Draw your own conclusion, but the asking price was $200,000, and the selling price was $150,000. (As a percentage of market time, that just might be the world's biggest price reduction --ever.)

That compares with a tax assessed value for just the land of $196,700.

Oh . . . and a couple doors down, the lot at 2822 Chowen is now "Pending." List price: $285k -- for a lot that is 21% smaller than 2900 Chowen (6,050 square feet vs. 7,623).

Single Agent Dual Agency: Exhibit A

OK, well at least the Seller's agent negotiated hard for them, right?

Hard to say, because the Seller's agent . . . . was also the Buyer's agent.

Called "single agent dual agency," such deals are notorious for conflicts of interest.

If you're keeping track, that's 4-for-4 on my "four ways to tell" if the Seller left money on the table.

As I say . . . draw your own conclusions.

P.S.: So guess what 2900 Chowen is worth according to Zillow? (Called a "zestimate")

Give up?

Try, $406k.

Zillow & Social Networking

Is Zillow Getting Smarter?

I've discussed third-party real estate sites such as Zillow and Trulia previously on this blog ("Trulia Hits -- and Mostly Misses"; "Zestimates Wildly Off-Target").

The verdict?

In most cases, you'd be better off throwing darts to establish your home's value.

That's because publicly available housing statistics -- and dated ones at that -- don't convey a home's condition, look and feel, updates, etc.

Not to mention key boundaries that are easy to miss on a map, such as a border between a good and bad school district -- or a a major highway. (That's also why a knowledgeable Realtor's pricing is typically better than an appraiser's).

However, at least anecdotally, I'm hearing that social networking sites (think, Facebook and My Space) are filling in Trulia and Zillow's blind spots.

The result -- at least in the biggest markets where social networking is most active -- is that the real estate sites are benefiting from a positive feedback loop that's making them more accurate.

In other words, they're getting smarter.

Will this trend travel to smaller markets such as the Twin Cities?

Stay tuned . .