A Better way to Price your Home
The process of selling a home with a traditional agent is backward in many ways. When determining the value of a home, for example, a certified appraisal from a pricing expert isn't performed until the very end of the process, after an offer has already been signed.
Prior to listing a home, traditional agents will generate a comparative market analysis (CMA), which is their opinion of the value of a seller's home. There are two potential problems with an agent's CMA. At one time, a vast majority of real estate agents stayed in the industry for a lifetime, accumulating a higher level of local market expertise. Today, 80% of new agents do not renew their real estate license after their first two years in the business, which has led to a growing lack of expertise in the industry.
Second, agents can have bias, either knowingly or unknowingly, built into their CMA. This is because CMAs are used as a marketing tool against other competing agents. A home's value could be skewed high to win a client's business or they could be set low to drive a fast sale.
The Real Estate Exchange provides every customer with a Home Transparency Report® which includes a pre-market certified appraisal from an unbiased third-party professional. With prerequisites that include a 4-year degree and 3-year apprenticeship (varies by state), certified appraisers hold the highest credentials available to determine the fair market value of a home. The average certified appraiser prices more homes in a week than most agents do in a year and they know their local markets intimately.
Although there is always a small level of unavoidable subjectivity, certified appraisers are the pricing experts. Appraisers are the profession that mortgage lenders rely on to verify their investments and homeowners appreciate having the same level of professional expertise assisting with their investment. By using a neutral, third-party professional to help set the right asking price, homes sell faster and homeowners experience less anxiety.
