Sale to Ask Ratio - You Never Can Tell
Three sales reported today neatly illustrate the vagaries of our real estate market.
88 Old Stone Bridge was first listed 3/27/07 for $2,595,000 and, 482 days later, sold for $1,850,000. That's 70% of the original asking price but it won't show up that way in our statistics because the Greenwich MLS, for whatever reason, chooses to compute the sale to ask ratio from the last listing price. In this case, $2,100,000, which yields a 88% ratio.
1 Lauder Way, on the other hand, was listed for $7,495,000 2/12/08 and then raised in May to $7,995,000 and quickly sold for full price. That's 6% above its original asking price. I've poked fun at sellers who've tried this tactic before but clearly it worked this time. I'll call the listing agent, Rene Gallagher of Round Hill Partners and ask her how she did it.
Just to balance those two, 38 High View Avenue was listed for $1,795,000 on 7/14/08 and went to contract in 14 days. It sold yesterday for $1,788,000, or 99.6%.
Moral of the story, at least for the first house and the last is, price your house right and it will sell, even in this market. I'm clueless about Lauder but, as I said, I'll ask.
1 year ago
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8 comments:
Chris - I believe that it is often a matter of timing. There are buyers out there for quality products. Unfortunately most builders in the recent past haven't put out a truly great product, especially at the high end. The other problem is that many Greenwich agents aren't able to recognize and communicate to their buyers true quality when they see it.
I agree whole heartedly. I used to have the privilege of doing open houses with a semi-retired builder who built dozens of high end homes in town and he was a great resource, pointing where one builder had cut corners and another had gone way beyond expectations. If I were advising builders, I'd suggest that they give educational tours to (some) agents. Not all - many couldn't care less, but there are a lot of us out here who want to steer our clients to the best possible house, especially one that, 5 years on, hasn't sagged and gone to Hell.
I happen to know of a builder who does exceed expectations. I have had the pleasure of such an educational tour and was blown away by his knowledge and dedication to quality.
http://www.foreclosurepulse.com/photos/foreclosurepulse_photos/images/110923/original.aspx
Interesting graphic - it appears here that our county is very high in foeclosures. Clearly most are not happening in Greenwich - are we immune from this level of forclosure based on our unique economic position - or will this type of thing eventuall drog our market down too.
http://www.foreclosurepulse.com/photos/foreclosurepulse_photos/images/110923/original.aspx
Interesting graphic - it appears here that our county is very high in foeclosures. Clearly most are not happening in Greenwich - are we immune from this level of forclosure based on our unique economic position - or will this type of thing eventuall drog our market down too.
great bldr? By all means, name him - the good ones deserve all the recognition they can get and these days, they might need the work!
As for Greenwich foreclosures, they don't happen if there is any equity. Until now, that's rarely been a problem but were seeing a few houses go to auction and I'd guess we'll see more, but nothing, I pray, like California.
Would it be OK to email you directly with some info on this builder instead of posting it in public? If so, can I use your office email address? This way you can decide if my assessment is acurate.
Christopher.fountain@gmail.com always gets here.
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