I had a buyer contact me about an acreage property and they said… “Going on past history we assumed the property would be a lot less than the current asking price.”

I totally understand why they feel that way, because buyers have so much access to information nowadays that it actually becomes confusing and creates indecision or even a level of “paralysis through overanalysis.”

What somebody paid for a property several years ago means absolutely nothing. Just because someone bought a property cheap doesn’t mean they’re going to sell it cheap. Property owners want ‘fair market value’.

Historical data has zero bearing on a property’s value and I honestly don’t know why the property websites show them so prominently.

They only serve to create a false perception of value, just like the price estimates do.

You see, historical data doesn’t take into consideration any of these factors…

the circumstances of the previous sale at the time
the condition of the property or the nature/extent of improvements made
the demand in the current market
the changing income opportunities that have taken place with sites like AirBnB becoming used so prevalently nowadays
the owners current circumstances
the skill level of the agent handling the sale (both now and back then)

In this information age I appreciate that transparency is important and helps to build trust, however, I also know that when buyers are making such an emotional decision as buying a home they want logical information to reinforce their decision so that they don’t feel that they have paid too much for a property.

I do get it. The whole buying process can be a massive balancing act.

But, over the past few years, I’ve met lots of buyers who missed out on their ideal home simply because they overanalysed the market and thought that the owners were unrealistic or the home would never sell for the price that it actually ended up being sold for.

These buyers ended up being incorrect, frustrated and extremely disappointed, but, then they all used the same standard phrase to either justify their decision or save face… “Oh well, obviously it wasn’t meant to be.”

Whenever I hear that phrase I sigh and feel sorry for them because they wouldn’t have made an offer if they didn’t want to buy the home in the first place and think… ‘if only they knew what they’ve actually missed out on”.

Anyway, this article is for all of those people who may be deciding on a home at the moment and don’t want to miss out on a property simply because they were overanalysing the market.

You see, personally I think the property websites have gone way too far with how they serve up historical sales data and they have put way too much emphasis on making that information so prevalent on their websites (especially when you consider who actually pays to have the properties appear on their websites)..

Just remember whatever an owner has paid for their home previously has no bearing whatsoever on the property’s current market value.

I hope you’ve found this information helpful.

Regards

Greg Vincent