Any Luck Getting Realtors To "show Their Work" When Computing GLA?

[Terrel L. Shields]

many RE Agents price their listings by a formula of $ per Sf.

They do not seek homes primarily by sq ft.

IN MY MARKET square footage is a consideration; however, minor size differences usually aren't. I can tell you, as a real estate broker of more than 40 years experience including training agents in 5 different states, buyers will typically tell an agent...."we are looking for a 3 bedroom, 2 bath ranch style with a 2 car garage in the XYZ area". That would be the basic criteria.

SF is a function of utility. I have to agree with Mike & Howard. People want certain function and SF pricing is an agent issue. As an appraiser I may search by SF, but once that initial search is done, then I match the subject to other criteria like age, condition and room count. If SF were the sole criteria then the GLA adjustments would be exactly the same as the price/SF. It isn't, it's invariably discounted.

 

[Eli]

IN MY MARKET square footage is a consideration; however, minor size differences usually aren't. I can tell you, as a real estate broker of more than 40 years experience including training agents in 5 different states, buyers will typically tell an agent...."we are looking for a 3 bedroom, 2 bath ranch style with a 2 car garage in the XYZ area". That would be the basic criteria. Following that the agent probes for more desires such as larger lot, mountain view, schools district, etc.

Yes, the nature of real estate even within a market can be very different. I've learned it's never good to stereotype real estate. The market is very revealing with many elements of comparison.

 

[Eli]

Any one that thinks GLA doesn't matter is off their rockers.

They need s1 s2 s3 s4 s5 s6 to rate their stupidity.

Yes I agree if they make that a blanket statement.

 

[J Grant]

Sf is never the sole criteria. As with other criteria, it's part of a purchase decision and varies in importance with different buyers. As with the other choices buyers make, unless they have an unlimited budget, is is tied in with price range. Some buyers set out to buy a larger house, others are scaling back and content with smaller, or can only afford smaller if they want to live in X location.

 

[Eli]

Djd09's post reminds me of FNMA's disclosure that some appraisers were adjusting everything at $25 per sf.

Anyway, I'm glad our MLS has been trying hard to provide members with the appraiser's square footage. There are instances where GLA is very important to the appraisal problem and the appraisers GLA is significantly different from both the MLS and tax assessment. And I can call the appraiser as a source of data.

 

[gregb]

I have never seen a buyer down on her hands and knees with a surveyor going over on the ground whether the site is actually 43,560 sf or only 38,560 sf.

 

[Eli]

Sf is never the sole criteria. As with other criteria, it's part of a purchase decision and varies in importance with different buyers. As with the other choices buyers make, unless they have an unlimited budget, is is tied in with price range. Some buyers set out to buy a larger house, others are scaling back and content with smaller, or can only afford smaller if they want to live in X location.

An old sharp appraiser I did some work with said: "if it was easy, everybody would be doing it". LOL

 

[J Grant]

I have never seen a buyer down on her hands and knees with a surveyor going over on the ground whether the site is actually 43,560 sf or only 38,560 sf.

I usually don't make adjustments for minor/moderate site differences per the above. ( nor for minor sf GLA differences). But families don't live on the sf of the site...a 1000 sf difference in site size between two lots might be barely noticed, whears that same 1000 sf in the house will be highly noticed!

It seems tone deaf to adjust for every tiny difference in lot size or a 30 sf difference between dwellings but some do it perhaps on an auto adjust feature? Or rote mechanical minded rather than sensitive to what market s saying

 

[Eli]

Back to the OP, many times it depends on what the agent is pushing to the buyer. If the agent(s) are really pushing GLA, then buyers are listening. Many buyers are focused on GLA.

On new construction, having the appraisers square footage is priceless in my market because realtors won't even be close many times and there won't be any public data available on the tax assessor data yet. And sometimes the MLS will just show the same house and GLA on multiple different properties that aren't anywhere close to being the same size or value. I can dig for it with the realtors but having that appraisal data is nice and the most reliable. The market tells me when I put it all together. Like JGrant said. Just have to put it all together.

 

[djd09]

Djd09's post reminds me of FNMA's disclosure that some appraisers were adjusting everything at $25 per sf.

Where's Fannie adjustments? Oh they just don't like ours and don't have any provable stats to back up their inane comments.

Fannie also said.

GLA is the only physical characteristic that has enough data points to correlate a meaningful market relevant search.