Canyon Road TowersZion Summit January 29, 2018

How Did I Get That High Price

Zion Summit Getting that high price

Recently two appraisers have called me with this question, “how did you get that high price”?

One query was on a Canyon Road Towers listing and the other was in Zion Summit. High Price

It is factual that a sellers agent has the responsibility to follow the instructions of his or her sellers. Of course that means instructions that are legal and ethical. In most cases sellers want the most they can get for their homes. The exception might be to instruct the agent to price it so it sells fast.

The two units that are the subject of this post were where the sellers wanted top dollar. I got that for them.

So to the Zion Summit question; we just closed at $19,000 more than the same condo 4 floors down is on the market for. It is $10,000 cheaper than a unit on the same floor, remodeled nicely, and still for sale. How do we do it? The answer has three parts. 1- I believed the view was better than the condo on  the same floor, even better than the unit $19,000 cheaper. 2- My listing had two parking stalls. I understood the value of the second parking stall. The actual buyer in his negotiations claimed the second stall was only worth $5,000. I inquired of the HOA onsite manager what stalls in Zion Summit were going for and he gave me the $5,000 figure. I assumed than that is where the buyer got this number. The fact is parking stalls to some people are worth much much more money. For example, people in Canyon Road Towers have paid as low as $5,000 for a stall, That hasn’t happened recently. There is a resident of Canyon Road Towers offering $12,500 for an extra stall and he has no takers. (In both of these buildings there are stalls included in the deed and some extra stalls that can be bought and sold.) There are buildings in Salt Lake City where buying a parking stall for $12,500 would be considered a steal. Kathleen and I paid $25,000 for an extra stall in our condo in Issaquah, Washington.  3- One of my talents is being able to recognize buying signals. There were a couple of them with this buyer. First, when I showed his wife both units for sale on the floor I could  tell she like the other agents listing better. Why didn’t they offer on that unit I asked him? I concluded he wanted my listing, either for the extra stall, the location, or the better view. I look for buying signals and this one had my listing written all over it. We did come down from our original asking price, actually dropped down in negotiations three times, but the final price was the right price and as this appraiser queried, it seemed to him to be confusingly high.

In the Canyon Road Towers querie I understood the value of a remodel. This unit was extremely appealing. Many of the downtown condos need updating. This one did not. I was lucky enough to have the appraiser contact me for access. I told him how much money the seller had put into the remodel. I offered receipts for the work which he didn’t want. He did give us the value.

I take serious my role, am I a buyers agent or a sellers agent? Am I a dual agent where I cannot work against either side. Whatever your need, I understand agency and act accordingly.

Larry Cragun Windermere Real Estate

Residential and Condominium Professional