Just Sold: 15822 Normandie Ave Unit 9 Gardena CA
My listing at 15822 Normandie Ave, Unit 9 in Gardena just closed escrow.
As far as case studies go, this sale provided a number of excellent teaching moments as the saying goes.
Let’s take a look at what went right and wrong.
SELLERS: LISTEN TO YOUR AGENT
Simply put, if you don’t trust what your agent is telling you, hire a different one.
I have to give my Seller clients the highest grades for following my lead and taking my advice throughout.
Specifically, they followed my advice on price and presentation which as I often say are the two variables we have the most control over.
Let’s start with pricing.
My Seller clients went with my pricing strategy, list just at or below the fair market value. We probably went around $10K below what the comps would have indicated to list at. And at a sub $500K price point these days, $10K is substantial.
Even though I knew the Sellers were trying to get as close to $450,000 as possible, we started at $429,000 which was a price point I knew we would get activity at. And we got a lot of activity. As in 30 showings in 2 days that resulted in 17 offers and a final sales price of $492,888 after a round of multiple counter offers. Obviously this far exceeded the Seller’s expectations. And quite frankly mine as well. As I like to say, I can guarantee the process but not the outcome. Fortunately great process leads to great outcomes.
There were a number of reasons we were able to achieve the price and the presentation was one of them. By presentation I am not only referring to the media I do, but to the work Sellers have to do these days in order to prepare the home to be on the market. And it’s a lot of work for most properties even if it is only decluttering and some deep cleaning.
So after my walkthrough, the Sellers did what they needed to do to get ready for my media day.
LISTING AGENTS: MARKET EVERY PROPERTY AS IF IT IS LISTED FOR $10,000,000
unless of course your average sales price is higher than $10M
I have to really credit this approach to my years at Teles Properties (still my favorite Brokerage ever). When I was there (2014-2018) I really learned this approach and I am more surprised other agents don’t do it. Or maybe I should say I’m more surprised at how poorly many agents handle this part of the job.
For every listing I have, no matter the price point, I have a standard way I bring it to market:
Professional photos including drone shots and twilight photos
Matterport 3D walkthrough
Floorplan
Professional Video
and pre pandemic, 4 sided brochure.
Not only has this created a certain look and feel that I’m very proud of, it has also helped brand my listings a certain way that I think the public recognizes. This works really well in the markets I am more dominant in like Redondo Beach where Buyers may see multiple listings from me throughout the time they are in the market. Want examples? They are all over this site.
BUYER AGENTS: DON’T LET YOUR CLIENTS BE COWBOYS
or cowgirls - cow people just sounds bad
Here’s another one of my sayings: “let’s not re-invent Real Estate practice”. I am not inferring that in this instance the Buyer’s agent, who was actually quite good, let things get out of control. In fact, just the opposite, she did a great job. I’m referring to the rodeo we had with the 17 offers with some Buyers who clearly were, well, just riding off towards the wring sunset. Or maybe I should say riding off a cliff.
It just won’t help you get deals in this market.
BUYERS: DON’T BELIEVE WHAT YOU READ ON THE INTERNET ABOUT REAL ESTATE
As I like to say, there’s just enough out there to get you totally confused so I’ll go back to what I said about the Sellers: if you can’t trust your agent, find one you can trust.
The Buyer for this property used one of the worst lenders I had ever worked with because most likely she searched for “lowest priced mortgage” or something like that.
As with many lenders, they were fine on the up front marketing part but when it came to performance, just terrible and they could have led to a disaster of an outcome for the Buyer. And I’m not even referring to just closing late.
They had told the Buyer to remove the loan contingency even though they really hadn’t completed their file yet. Specifically, they had not yet cleared the HOA certification from the management company because they ordered it incorrectly. That is so basic and so irresponsible, I don’t even know where to start. Just wrong. Then there were other blunders but I won’t bore you with those.
ALL’S WELL THAT ENDS WELL
Escrow closed. Next.