Justine Limpic, REALTOR

Has anyone else see the recent Raleigh episode of Buy Me on HGTV? If you missed out, perhaps they will show the re-run soon. It showcased a home for sale in the North Raleigh, Bedford neighborhood. Bedford has long been one of the most desired neighborhoods in the county, and the listing agent, taking that into consideration, wanted to get the sellers every last penny possible.

One interesting thing to note is that the listing agent had recently relocated from California where she also sold real estate. Having too lived a majority of my life in California I can see where she was coming from. It was hard for me to understand how different home values from one state to the next could be, but in real estate, we all know that true market value is what the buyer is willing to pay.

I was thrilled when I moved out here and realized that what could cost millions of dollars in some parts of California cost less that $500,000 in North Carolina. Talk about exciting! Ordinary people can afford large homes in NC. The listing agent featured in the HGTV piece was trying to raise the average sale price of an entire neighborhood in one listing because she felt the homes in the area were undervalued compared to the homes she was used to selling in California.

That real estate mantra “location, location, location” rings loud and clear in this case. Don’t be surprised to find that a house of your size and quality, found in other parts of the country, are worth significantly less. But in the outcome of the episode, the sellers home was not selling at the listing price and didn’t for several months. The sellers decided not to rehire the listing agent after their contract expired and in turn sold the home within 10 days after hiring a new listing agent. Albeit, the sales price was $40,000 less than their original listing price.

Moral of the story: don’t try to be the one home in the neighborhood to try and singlehandedly raise the average listing price…it will only lead you to months of wondering if you will sell at all!