Why home info on the internet is so confusing

I get calls from clients all the time about why their home isn't listed, why is it showing active when it's really pending, etc., etc.  Here's the deal -- different websites list information differently.

First, all the secondary sites (Zillow, Trulia, Realtor.com, Redfin, etc.) pick up their info from the local multiple listing services.  We Realtors enter the info into the mls's. The local mls services are supposed to cooperate with each other, but sometimes add each other's info very slowly.  So while you are seeing something on, say, Zillow, your Realtor may not be able to find it on his/her multiple listing service for a few more hours.

The "fast" sites are Redfin and Zillow.  But remember that it all comes from an mls, so its useful to ask your Realtor to create an automatic search on the mls for you, and look at it first.  Slow sites are some mls's and Realtor.com.

Also, there are different confusing designations.  We all know what "active" and "sold" mean.  What does "active-under contract" mean? It means that it is already pending sale, but the sellers are still taking backup offers.  Some websites show this designation as "active." It isn't, not really.  If you really want to see one of these, ask your Realtor to call the listing agent and ask how their escrow is going. That way, you won't waste your time.

And some sites just misinterpret data. (To be fair, some Realtors mistakenly enter incorrect mls data, too.) They mark search fields differently, don't show all open houses, don't pick up pictures, etc., etc.

Confused? Even Realtors get confused by this.  Don't worry, you will get all the info on a piece of property.  It just may take some sleuthing on the part of you and your Realtor.

Insider dope: Zillow and Trulia may merge

Zillow and Trulia are having discussions about merging.  What does that mean to Los Angeles-area home buyers and sellers?  It will make home searches easier.  Rather than having two portals to view, you'll now have one.  No more cross-checking, or getting the same listing from separate sources.  And by the way, the sales info on all of the megasites comes from, yes, the local multiple listing service.  Not the Zestimates or tax records, of course, but the pictures, descriptions, showing info, amenities, etc. -- we Realtors create that and add that to our local multiple listing services.

Way more sales than listings on the mls

The multiple listing service's 24 hour market watch reports WAY MORE sales than listings.  Perhaps that's because it's the end of the month and more transactions close then than at other times of the month.  Still, it's the first time I've seen this in years.  The cumulative backup offers and pendings are higher than listings, too. Here are the numbers for the last day:
New Listing (675)


Price Change (388)

Back On Market (480)

Backup Offer (381)

Expired (123)

Pending (494)

Sold (898)

If you're a seller, now may be the time to list your home.  If you're a buyer, it looks as though inventory will be short for the remainder of the summer.

A not-so-open letter to potential buyers

My buyer clients recently had a disappointing experience with a deliberately under-priced home in Burbank.  It was originally on the market for $600's+ and had a $100,000 (!!!!) price reduction after 30 days.  That's really a big drop for a home in great condition and it immediately drew four offers. Yes, even in this market, some underpriced houses are drawing multiple offers.  Here's the heavily edited post-mortem email that I wrote them.

"[Buyers] I know the [street name] house was a disappointing situation.  But here's some "back story": ...[Some Realtors] are known for deliberately underpricing their properties in order to attract multiple bids and sell them quickly...The strategy is very controversial, but [some agents] and their sellers find it successful. My experience has been that properties sell just as quickly when they're priced correctly, but that's me. 

Additionally, [some agents] often have their own buyers for their properties -- who they then have bid against each other for the under-priced houses.  The [street name] house was really under-priced for that many square feet in Magnolia Park, so I wasn't surprised that it drew so many offers so quickly, even in this market.

So the take-away is that if it seems too good to be true, it probably is.

Here's what you can do so you're ready to rock next time:

- Follow through with [buyers' lender] and obtain a full pre-approval.  Those mean more to listing agents and sellers than a pre-qualification.  Also, be able to show proof of funds to close in a liquid form.  In other words, your entire down payment, plus about 2%-3% for closing costs, should be readily available on a page or two from a bank or financial institution.

- Most listings are added to the mls Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday.  We can check every day, and if something is appealing, get in before the open house.  [Of course, this requires that you use a Realtor in your home search.  Just saying - ed.] And also, not all homes are open every weekend.  This way, you won't miss anything.

 - ...[Adjacent areas] to your [dream location]...may be worth considering.  [They may]...have great housing stock, and prices might be coming down.  It might be worth considering.  Perhaps you'll let me give you a tour sometime...

Anyway, please call me with any questions and know that I'm here to help."

Shadow inventory of solds?

We’ve all heard about the “shadow inventory” of foreclosures that is supposed to hit the real estate market. But could there be a “shadow inventory” of sold properties? Last week, L.A. Times published an article which states that real estate sales and home prices are not so hot for the Southland. Here’s the link if the title won’t link. As always, I’m not going to argue with statistics, but I don’t know that they tell the whole story. Yes, the early part of 2011 was slow, but I think there could be another reason for low numbers.

IMO, the sales numbers may be skewed by the sheer number of short sales out there. Here’s how it works. A regular home lists, attracts offers, and the buyer and seller enter a contract. The house usually closes escrow 30 to 90 days later and the sale is reported in both the multiple listing service and to the county tax assessor. That’s where all the data comes from. But with short sales, the buyer and seller can be in contract for four to eight months before the bank even approves the sale. During the time period, regardless of the agreement between buyer and seller, the house must be listed as “active” on the mls (the banks in their wisdom mandate this.) And then it can take a month or so to close. (For example, I had one last year that went eight months before it closed, and another one cancel after four months before the bank even got around to approving it.) Not to be Pollyanna-ish, but considering that a high percentage of homes on the market are distressed sales, I think we may be experiencing more of a time delay in reporting actual sale transactions, than in actual sales. What do you think?

Weekly stats for the areas that I serve

Here are 7-day statistics from the areas that I serve, courtesy of the mls:
New listings: 211
Pendings: 256
Price changes: 200
Back on market: 86
Expired: 51
Sold: 152

Real estate stats for you

Here are 7-day real estate transaction statistics for the areas I serve. (Note: this is not all of L.A. County, or all of L.A. City either, but includes Burbank, Studio City, Toluca Lake, Glendale, Montrose, Pasadena, Hollywood Hills, Eagle Rock, Sunland, Sun Valley, Valley Village, Valley Glen, North Hollywood, Granada Hills, Sherman Oaks, and much of the San Fernando Valley. Whew.) Yes, it includes single family homes and condos/townhomes, and it includes short sales and REOs in those categories, too.
New on market: 521
Price change: 424
Back on Market: 230
Expired: 155
Pending and Backup Offer: 524
Sold: 313
These stats are courtesy of the MLS.

The Realtor makes an offer - Chapter 2: Kitchen worries

The townhouse we're considering buying in Toluca Lake really suits us.  We like the location, the layout, the price and the HOA.  But the kitchen...doesn't work at all.  It's tiny (the picture above is not it.)  We're not gourmet cooks, but this kitchen is about 2/3rds the size of the one we have now, which is already too small. It's u-shaped, and there won't be room for two humans and 3 pets.  It has a double oven, which we don't need, and has no pantry, which we do need. It really needs a build-out, and we can't work with it as it is.

We went to Lowes and got cabinet catalogs.  And had a contractor who we've used in the past take a look.  (This contractor can sell ice to Eskimos.)  Yes, the kitchen can be remodeled, built out, expanded, etc. -- and will cost a minimum of $20k just to do a medium-line build out, probably more.  In cash.

Yikes.  That's on top of our 20% downpayment.  During this time, we were also watching HGtv remodeling shows.  Yes, a medium-line kitchen will cost $20k plus.

Other flaws become evident.  The rooftop patio has water intrusion issues.  The master bath doesn't have a tub. There's one less closet than we need, although perhaps we can do something in the garage.  The carpet is shot.

Although we had our doubts, the pluses outweigh the minuses, at least to my husband.  We went ahead and made an offer anyway, about $9k less than full price.  We won't sell our existing house until the Spring, and we can close in 30 days.  We're approved by a lender.

And the place hasn't been shown yet as it's being painted (but is on the mls), so we figure the early bird is going to get the worm.  The listing agent is in my office, is a friend, and has gotten us to see it in advance of the marketing.
Next: our negotiation

More about 1435 Pass, Burbank or the trouble with "auction prices"

See below for previous posts -- and comments -- on the listing at 1435 N. Pass, Burbank.  An agent in my office, whose client made an offer on it for $435,000, tells me that there were ten offers by last weekend.  His client's offer was not the highest, and he believes Pass went into escrow around $440,000+.  This is still less than what I think the house is worth, and in my opinion, the buyers got a fabulous deal.  I'll know exactly what it sold for when the price is published in the multiple listing service next month.

I think that if the sellers had priced this a little closer to the comps, it would have taken a longer to sell.  That's a bad thing.  But I also think they would have ended up with a higher price -- and that's a good thing, if you're a seller.

Need a laugh? Agent comments from the multiple listing service

Today's post from our friends at AgentGenius.com is a "blooper reel" of comments written by listing agents on the multiple listing service.  Sample: “Beautiful satan wallpaper in foyer” (No doubt it’s a flame print.)."  No doubt many of these were from Realtors in the San Fernando Valley. Click here for more.

3301 Brookshire Ct., Burbank for $2,599,000 - office exclusive listing

Here's the front door (plus a lot of Realtors) of a home at 3301 Brookshire Court, in the Highridge Estates in Burbank, CA.  It has 5 beds, 7 baths, 6645 square feet, a pool, a view of the San Fernando Valley, and all the bells and whistles you could want in a high-end home.  It's really gorgeous and it's listed for $2,599,000.  But unless you retain a Dilbeck Realtor, like me, you may not be able to view this home for sale in Burbank for awhile.

Why? Because it's an "office exclusive."  This means the house is for sale, but is not yet in the multiple listing service.  The seller has decided that buyers at this point in time must be represented only by Realtors from the listing agent's office -- that's us, Dilbeck Realtors.  How does that benefit anybody? The sellers chose to do this as they want to wait to publicize the listing until after the holidays, but wish to make the home available for (really) motivated buyers now.