The Quest for Greater Transparency When Buying A Home…

I most enjoy speaking to first time LA home buyers (FTLAHB’s) when they feel comfortable enough to tell us their opinions openly because then, we are better able to address any concern or if nothing else, have a livelier conversation. Yesterday, I got to compare notes with a very astute young man named Ali who is leaning into the prospect of buying his first home. Ali didn’t pull any punches with me as a Broker, letting me know in no uncertain terms that he has a problem trusting some of the information that is presented about homes and therefore, the Brokers involved.

His main concern deals with trying to figure out the actual number of days a property has been listing for sale with the current broker and if there is a way to find out if the property has been listed with a previous Broker? This is an excellent point because depending on how long a property has been on the market can speak volumes as to how much the property is worth.

Addressing this concern is really simple. Each listed property for sale in the Multiple Listing Service has an information option available to Brokers called “Listing History”. Punch in the property address and you will find to the day, how many days the property has been listed for sale, if there have been any price changes, whether the property has had a “status” change like any price reductions or if the property has been in and out of escrow, taken off the market and if there has been more than one broker representing the home. So when inquiring about a home, make sure you get a “Listing History” as well as accurate comparable sales in the area to assist you in making a more informed decision as to what to offer.

Now, we do have a caveat regarding Days on Market or DOM as we say in the trade. As much as we wish all sellers would price their homes at realistic prices relative to current market conditions, some sellers feel their home is worth more than what most would consider fair market value. This becomes a huge issue when the only thing appreciating about the home is the number of days the property languishes for sale. This is not good. In fact, we have told seller that extensive DOM’s start to act like a cancer for the listing to try and jar them as to the gravity of their initial pricing decision. Many times, the only problem with a quality house in a good location is the initial price a seller saddles on top of it.

So don’t be too quick to assume a house has terminal problems because it has a DOM tumor attached to it. Simply focus on the merits of the home as it works for your needs and work to figure out a fair price that works for you beyond the flights of fancy of the seller. Too many potential buyers loose an opportunity to pick up the right house for them at a good price because they assume with a big DOM number that the house has problems. Many a deal has been struck with a homeowner who came on the market too high and got lost in between the pricing cracks only to have a host of would be buyers say “if I’d known I could have bought that home at that price, I would have jumped all over it”.

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