Realtor Property Resource® is a private automated system just for Realtor® members. They are making great strides in promoting this service, and more and more agents are using this system to create their CMAs to present to owners. I recently reviewed a report provided by the listing agent which included sixty-nine pages of every imaginable piece of information. To an owner, this must look very impressive. However, to anyone who understands what a “Comparable” sale is, this report was downright frightening. To think that many of the newer agents are using this tool to develop home prices is a warning sign we are in for a new run on low appraisals. With the RPR®, chances are the agent will get over and under valuations. They might get a report with a close value in a large urban area, but only in limited areas. The reports with accurate values, in my opinion, would be no more than 20% nationwide. It’s a bad system, but with great advertising. And, much like the new Zillow® ads telling consumers they can feel better about what they are paying for their new home by checking the value on Zillow®, these warm, fuzzy commercials are geared for first-time home-buyers and they are trying to teach a whole new generation to trust in automated valuations. Consumer protection goes right out the door as consumers learn to trust these online valuations over a local, highly trained appraiser.
Let’s take a look at the comparable details from a “Seller’s Report.” First the subject property is listed with 3,436 sqft of finished living area. Per my measurements, based on the ANSI® standard, the home measured 2,923 sqft or GLA. A difference of 513 sqft. So, no matter what happens, this report (using the sqft details from local tax records) is going to be wayyyy off. Now, let’s look at their selection of so-called “comps.” This home should be priced somewhere between $425,000-$450,000. The list of sales used in this report ranged from $275,000 all the way up to $1,100,000. That’s an $825,000 spread. These comps were homes ranging in ages from 1913 to 2016. The total sqft range was from 1,240 sqft up to 6,388 sqft. Coming up with an average price-per-square-foot value, using this range of sales, is basically useless. These homes don’t even remotely resemble “comparable” properties. Any valuation based on such wide parameters is not a true indication of fair market value.
But, to a seller, they look very professional and the agent explains how they look at the “total market” to come up with a listing range of values. A seller may not understand, but an experienced real estate agent should know the difference and realize this is comparing applesto grapes and watermelons. What is a seller supposed to think? They may bring in two agents to interview for their listing. The first shows up with this 69-page report that has the Realtor® brand all over it, color graphs, and all the bells and whistles possible. The next agent shows up and suggests they get a prelisting appraisal to be sure about the fair market value. This agent comes in with an appraisal summary and a final value that is $80,000 lower than the number the first agent gave them. Guess who gets the listing?
Then what happens if they do get a contract? They get a low appraisal. They will be told it’s because the appraiser did a bad job. No one ever considers the home may have been over priced from the start. It’s a new twist on an old game and it is very bad for the public who has to trust in the real estate profession. The “one number” that really matters, the “final value,” is the most important element of any valuation and in online valuations, it’s far too often not worth the paper it’s printed on. It comes down to the “Trust Game” and for right now, online valuations are winning in dramatic fashion.
