Everybody loves getting something for nothing. Then, of course, there’s the usually-true adage that you get what you pay for. And when you don’t pay for something, what you get is…something that’s not worthy anything. Which brings us to the Comparative Market Analysis, or CMA. For years, real estate agents have used CMA’s as a wedge to get their foot in your door and their rears on your sofa. Once firmly settled in, they’d line up impressive-looking reports that compare the features and drawbacks of your house to those of recently sold houses. The more like yours, the better the comparison – or ‘comp’ – and the better the indicator of what your house would be worth if you listed it with the agent, which of course we’ll be doing today, won’t we? and I have the contract right here!
Agents like to talk about the CMA as though it is a rare prize. The truth is that the CMA was, is, and always will be, a marketing tool. Once you sign with an agent, agents immediately start amassing evidence that your house really shouldn’t be put on the market for a price at the upper end of the CMA…the CMA that, remember, was the gospel truth just a week or two earlier. Suddenly, the CMA becomes a CYA: the agent starts to push you to the lower end of the spectrum because that ensures her an easy, quick sale.
Let’s pause for some agents to pipe up about how they don’t get paid unless the house sells, therefore they are paid for results.
Nice try. As we outline , agents’ business models are severely misaligned with what’s best for their clients. That’s why they are so quick to abandon their carefully crafted CMA: it’s not their own A that they ultimately strive to C.
No comments:
Post a Comment