The secret weapon helping REALTORS® win the pricing game

Even the most experienced REALTORS® know that pricing a home can be a challenge. Whether dealing with market fluctuations, low inventory, relocating clients, or even competition for the listing, the intricacies of the process are always unique and can even be overwhelming.

REALTORS® need a reliable starting point. Enter RPR's Realtor Valuation Model®, or RVM®. The RPR's RVM® is not just another typical automated value. Using proprietary algorithms, an RVM® can only be calculated if strict criteria is met, including at least two comparable properties from MLS listing, sales and off market data. For these the REALTORS®, RPR's RVM® has become not only that starting point, but a secret weapon in their business.

Beating the Competition

Meet Cathy. Cathy has been a REALTOR® in Maryland since 1986, and prides herself on knowing the details of her market. Her experience and expertise has made Cathy very successful over the years. She had heard of RPR, but not being a "computer person," she had yet to login and make it a staple in her arsenal of tools. However, during a listing appointment, Cathy realized that she was in competition with other REALTORS®, and knew she needed to stand out, especially since the homeowners were going to push the market with their pricing. She knew then that it was time to use RPR.

Upon logging in to RPR, she immediately saw the RVM® for the subject property and began making adjustments, based on the home improvements she had seen at the appointment. In less than 10 minutes, she adjusted the RVM® and created a 46-page report and emailed to the homeowners. Giving her an A+ for effort, the homeowners gave Cathy the listing, which sold 11 days later with five offers!

5 Stars of Confidence

Meet James and Penny. James and Penny are a husband and wife team from Texas. Thanks to their hard work and stellar service, James and Penny had a previous buyer contact them when she was ready to sell her house. After purchasing the house for $183K, their client was now only looking to break even, and wanted to sell the home for $189K. Penny immediately went into RPR, looked at the RVM®, and came back with a list price of $227K. The seller said that was way too high, and James thought $200K would be a good price, since their client wanted to sell rather quickly.

Not one to be deterred by a little push back, and knowing both of those prices were too low, Penny went into RPR to show them why she felt $227K was not only a great list price, but one that would ensure the property would sell quickly. After looking at the data, including the '5 stars of confidence' on the RVM®, they decided to compromise and list the property at $220K, which was still over $30,000 more than their client had even dreamed of. The property sold for full list price, in eight days, with backup offers over list price!

Out of Town Clients

Meet Dru, a REALTOR® in Arizona. Dru has been a REALTOR® since 2003, and is also an avid real estate blogger. Dru had a client contact her to purchase a home in Scottsdale, Arizona. The caveat: the client currently lived outside the country and also owned property in California. He wanted to get a sense of what his home in California was worth, which would then determine what he could afford in Scottsdale.

Dru instantly knew that RPR could help. After logging in, she found her client's California property and its RVM. She then used the RVM and subject property details to help her find comps for the home and figured out her client's equity in less than four minutes, without ever seeing the property firsthand. Her client was impressed, and Dru knew that she'd be using RPR and its RVM in her business from that point forward.

Although each of these REALTORS® has used the RVM in their own way, one thing is consistent: the RVM gave each of them a starting point in their pricing strategy and the confidence to know their clients would be quickly getting the most out of their property.

To view the original article, visit the RPR blog.