Analysis of Zillow and Redfin saves

Analysis of Zillow and Redfin saves

Flipper/Rehabber · Bloomfield CT · Member since 2020 · 1k+ posts · 408 votes

I am selling a property. Zillow and Redfin are showing a high volume of SAVES. Yet actual showings has been very low. How do I make sense of this?

the address is 44 shadybrook, Waterbury CT 06706

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Real Estate Agent · Kansas City · Member since 2018 · 4k+ posts · 3k+ votes
9mo

That is very common. People that are browsing or not even seriously looking for a house will save houses they like but never take the next step. Anyone can save a home online so take that stat with a grain of salt. Showings will be your indicator. 

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  • Real Estate Agent · Kansas City · Member since 2018 · 4k+ posts · 3k+ votes
    9mo

    That is very common. People that are browsing or not even seriously looking for a house will save houses they like but never take the next step. Anyone can save a home online so take that stat with a grain of salt. Showings will be your indicator. 

  • Jaron WallingPro Member
    Rental Property Investor · Indianapolis, IN · Member since 2018 · 4k+ posts · 4k+ votes
    9mo

    @James McGovern Welcome to the club! It's not easy selling right now. 

    We're in the same boat but with a cheaper property. We listed a SFH flip about 45 days ago for $189k, had lots of views/saves, but only a handful of showings. We accepted an offer but it's contingent on the buyer selling there house. They want to downsize into a fully renovated house which helps, but the offer can collapse if this market "lock out" continues.

    Incredible listing by the way. That view from the deck is nice! Does the solar panels system have a battery storage? That's an under appreciated bonus (in my opinion) if the system works correctly. My wife and I almost bought a house with solar installed. 

    Like @Caleb Brown said there's a ton of tire kickers right now. 

    • Flipper/Rehabber · Bloomfield CT · Member since 2020 · 1k+ posts · 408 votes
      9mo

      @Jaron Walling solar works correctly. I haven't seen an electric bill since installing. No batteries though 

    • Jaron WallingPro Member
      Rental Property Investor · Indianapolis, IN · Member since 2018 · 4k+ posts · 4k+ votes
      9mo
      Quote from @James McGovern:

      @Jaron Walling solar works correctly. I haven't seen an electric bill since installing. No batteries though 


       That's amazing. Hopefully you find a buyer soon. 

  • Realtor · Boulder, CO · Member since 2016 · 3k+ posts · 5k+ votes
    9mo

    1. You are priced too high. 

    2. Your marketing is off/ budget agent not doing you any favors. List with an agent doing deals in THAT MARKET. 

    3. Wrong time of year. Why on earth would you list just prior to the holidays? Of course you're getting a lot of looks but no showings, people don't have time during the holidays, they are focused on gifts, and the weather sucks. List in the spring like a normal person.  

    • Flipper/Rehabber · Bloomfield CT · Member since 2020 · 1k+ posts · 408 votes
      9mo

      @Steve K. Please explain why you think the price is too high? The house across the street sold for more and we have better views along with fully paid off solar

    • Realtor · Boulder, CO · Member since 2016 · 3k+ posts · 5k+ votes
      9mo
      Quote from @James McGovern:

      @Steve K. Please explain why you think the price is too high? The house across the street sold for more and we have better views along with fully paid off solar


       Just because that is the #1 reason a property gets a lot of looks but not a lot of showings. When did the house across the street sell? 

    • Realtor · Boulder, CO · Member since 2016 · 3k+ posts · 5k+ votes
      9mo
      Quote from @James McGovern:

      @Steve K. Please explain why you think the price is too high? The house across the street sold for more and we have better views along with fully paid off solar


       The house across the street was listed during the selling season by a local listing agent. Same thing with the one a block away that also sold for more than your asking price: listed in the spring, local listing agent. 

      Yours was listed at a non-optimal/terrible time of year, using a discount brokerage and an agent who works a large geographic area and uses a high volume/ low profit model. They may or may not be a good agent, I have no idea, but their brokerage business model is such that it incentivizes putting in the minimal amount of time and effort per transaction. Because they are not local, they are much less likely to have good local connections, local buyers, local leads, great working relationships with other local agents who they network with and put deals together with, connecting buyers and sellers as great agents do, and less understanding of the local market, pricing strategy, seasonality etc... Don't buy a Yugo and expect it to drive like a Ferrari. 

  • Rental Property Investor · Madison, WI · Member since 2013 · 629 posts · 339 votes
    9mo

    I know a great agent based in Trumbull, who really went the extra mile for us when we sold our house in CT last year. They could give you insight on whether your price is off, and what that particular market is like. If you'd like, send a DM. 
    And Steve is right- wrong time of year. List in late February to get a jump on the spring sales.

    • Flipper/Rehabber · Bloomfield CT · Member since 2020 · 1k+ posts · 408 votes
      9mo

      @Tanya F. Holding costs sitting around till February or march doesn't sound like a smart idea but does satisfy providing sage wisdom 

    • Rental Property Investor · Madison, WI · Member since 2013 · 629 posts · 339 votes
      9mo
      Quote from @James McGovern:

      @Tanya F. Holding costs sitting around till February or march doesn't sound like a smart idea but does satisfy providing sage wisdom 

      So then, list now at your price minus 3 months of holding costs, see if you get any bites then. Would be the same as listing in February at your current price. And maybe you'll get multiple offers. If not, you're priced too high.

      When we sold our place this year in CT, and were interviewing agents, there was an enormous range in their market opinions, from 400K to 1.1M. We picked someone who priced it in the middle (from Trumbull) and sold for 800K (asking price). Our holding costs were minimal.

      P.S. Love that your house and the neighbor both have solar panels.

  • Real Estate Broker · Minneapolis, MN · Member since 2011 · 5k+ posts · 6k+ votes
    9mo

    @James McGovern looks like his was a flip? 

    With what appears to be very tight margins. 

    First sale listing went nowhere so took it down and relisted a couple days later. That tactic only works to get noticed, buyer agents with any skill recognize it as desperation. 

    The market rent's look to be considerable. Ballpark of what a mortgage is.... 

    I'd dig into what your options are for doing a terms sale; namely Lease with Purchase Option, aka "Rent-2-Own". 

    It appears you have all the right ingredients for this. I simply am not up to speed with that markets contract law particulars. 

    On LWO if open to do as I'd please, I'd do 3yr on the option, and I price the strike price on the option in future tense, so the forecasted FMV in 3yrs. I tend to lean on historical appreciation rates in range of 2.5% annual.

    I view a purchase option like a delayed closing, hence using a FMV that coincides with execution date. Fair, right. The benefit is not in getting a discounted buy, it's on getting use of what can be, is tentatively planned to be, their home.

    I generally set option price as 1% of the total option price. And for rents during lease period I review market rents, and what a 30yr amortized payment would be if did a C4D instead with a 1-2pt premium tacked onto my cost, and I land somewhere in the higher range. If buyer wants to "buy-down" that payment, I'll deviate downward for greater payment on the option. 

    It's all rather technical but it is also all rather simple. 

    That's direction I'd go. 

    • Flipper/Rehabber · Bloomfield CT · Member since 2020 · 1k+ posts · 408 votes
      9mo

      @James Hamling the price change was to true up to the listing agreement. The first price was a typo. It is sad that there doesn't seem to be a way to clean this up as I am certain that others will attempt the same analysis as you did . Appreciate any suggestions that I could add to listing to discourage that mindset 

  • Rental Property Investor · East Wenatchee, WA · Member since 2014 · 10k+ posts · 16k+ votes
    9mo

    I save just to be alerted of price drops. Lots of alerts. 

  • Meriden, CT · Member since 2018 · 698 posts · 500 votes
    9mo

    @James McGovern - we priced our recent CT flips a bit below what the market is based on comps.  They are also sitting.  The market has softened because of the seasonality of real estate.  I've been debating pulling and waiting until February.  That may be your best bet.

    • Flipper/Rehabber · Bloomfield CT · Member since 2020 · 1k+ posts · 408 votes
      9mo

      @Samuel Eddinger pull early or wait till the last minute?

      it would seem that if a buyer was looking in January it would be beneficial for your property to be shown to them

  • Real Estate Broker · Minneapolis, MN · Member since 2011 · 5k+ posts · 6k+ votes
    9mo

    @James McGovern pricing strategy when professionally doing flips is NOT the traditional home-owner method of list at MAX what think people will buy at, then discount, discount, discount until someone jumps in. 

    When you enter a deal, if your professional, you utilize a MAO (Maximum Allowable Offer).

    As a person who's done hundreds of flip's; when comes time to market for sale we again come to it equipped with a MiAO (Minimum Allowable Offer). 

    We review market comp's vs our MiAO, and list at EITHER our MiAO or somewhere between that an 50% the distance to CMA.

    Yes, we UNDER price the market each-and-every-time. And we NEVER leave $ on the table. 

    Now how can this be true? Because the simple universal fact that a property is ONLY worth what the market is willing to pay for it. Period end of story. 

    Our method is designed for TIME EFFICENCY plus Maximum Emotional Value. 

    By marketing at a best in market offering, we drive emotional power, URGENCY, which leads to not only multiple offers but EMOTIONAL deal chasing type offers, FOMO. 

    This lends to gain our best Terms on a sale, as well as best price. 

    Now key to this is a person has to be skilled and experienced in running such a "circus" of multiple offers and how to juggle things, drive home the URGENCY to act, counter-offers and what not. 

    And with this the market will drive price UP too FMV.

    And guess what, if you get a grand total of 2 offers, barely moving the needle up in price, no, the hoped for 120% of list price was NOT "FMV" then was it. No.

    Because if your at a 10, 15, 20% discount of "FMV" the market will flip the heck out. On open day you will have showings stacked and jamb packed.

    My last most recent one, we lead with 72hrs of coming soon status. In that we filled the first 2 days of showings with up to 3 over-lapping showing times, for the first 2 days solid. 

    We had communication of offers in process the day before showing opened. 

    On first day of showings of course we got all the dumb agent questions, which I ignore and I gave my templated response that as listed it's a great deal for a buyer and they must act fast or miss out, and I suggest all put there best foot forward and may the odd's ever be in their favor. 

    24hrs into showings the first PA land's. 

    I send out a notice for all agent's we will be accepting offers until ___ day and __ time, so please submit their highest and best by this time to assure they are fairly considered. If any have a situation otherwise contact me at ___ to discuss. 

    By that time we had low-balls, at asking, and 3 escalation offers. 

    We accepted an escalation offer with great terms, and closed 35 days later at 115% of list price. 

    Now keep in mind we listed at 105% of MiAO. 

    Our Miao is our MINIMUM acceptable sale that has MINIMUM acceptable margins on things. No, it's not a big payday, it's not a "get-rich" profit. It's an acceptable "aaah, ok, we can survive on that" profit. And everything else is just a GIFT, icing on the cake. 

    Too many think flipping is about hitting Grand-slam after Grand-slam. And they end up loosing $ chasing Grand-slams. 

    It's about pricing for base hit's, leaving the door open for a home-run, and taking it as they come. 

    And VOLUME, repeatability, playing the averages. 

    Pricing UP to discount down is giving away $ via TIME LOSS. Time is $, literally. So stop wasting $ via wasting time. 

  • Flipper/Rehabber · Bloomfield CT · Member since 2020 · 1k+ posts · 408 votes
    9mo

    In Connecticut we are still in a sellers market. We price to get competitive offers 

    • Real Estate Broker · Minneapolis, MN · Member since 2011 · 5k+ posts · 6k+ votes
      9mo
      Quote from @James McGovern:

      In Connecticut we are still in a sellers market. We price to get competitive offers 


      "In Connecticut we are still in a sellers market. We price to get competitive offers"


      Yeah.... So then what happened? Where's your multiple offers? Hell, from sounds of it you'd just be happy at multiple showings at this point.... 

      You don't seem to be accepting of the reality right in front of your face. 

      You seem to be confusing a Listing market with a Sellers market. You need to actually get SOLD in a manner that denotes a "Sellers Market" be be a Sellers Market..... Your just listing, not selling. 
    • Real Estate Broker · Minneapolis, MN · Member since 2011 · 5k+ posts · 6k+ votes
      9mo
      Quote from @James McGovern:

      In Connecticut we are still in a sellers market. We price to get competitive offers 


       Yeah.... Near 10% price reductions and still not moving..... That's not a "sellers market" my friend. 

      https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/60-Gayfield-Rd-Waterbury-...

    • Flipper/Rehabber · Bloomfield CT · Member since 2020 · 1k+ posts · 408 votes
      9mo

      @James Hamling the property you linked to has been discounted. It is easy to say that price is the answer but there are always people who will overpay in any market and it is a matter of finding and marketing to them. Looking for ideas analogous to selling Evian to a drowning person 

    • Real Estate Broker · Minneapolis, MN · Member since 2011 · 5k+ posts · 6k+ votes
      9mo
      Quote from @James McGovern:

      @James Hamling the property you linked to has been discounted. It is easy to say that price is the answer but there are always people who will overpay in any market and it is a matter of finding and marketing to them. Looking for ideas analogous to selling Evian to a drowning person 


      "Looking for ideas analogous to selling Evian to a drowning person"


      Lol. Well, I wouldn't exactly call that an effective pricing strategy but hey, I respect the honesty. 

      The problem with that approach is that your essentially looking for a buyer who is an oxymoron; is some iteration of a fool/idiot, and has considerable money/finances. 

      There is a saying that a fool and his money are soon parted. So I would say seeking one not yet parted is not so much looking for a needle in a haystack as it is looking for a needle with a particular bend to it, or a specific tarnish, out of a handful of needles, in a haystack...... 

      Which brings me back to my first suggestion of using terms, a terms based sale to make it work. It's not really selling water to a drowning person, sorry fresh out of "How to F a person is 3 easy steps", but it's a solid method to increase monetization potential. 

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