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Are Baton Rouge Failed Home Sales A Major Concern and Why They Occur

I recently was sent a video of Ryan from TheREsource.tv regarding Failed Sales A Major Concern, link to his video is below.

In the video, Ryan states 4.3 percent of contracts failed to close, which more than tripled from 2014.

This is Ryan’s map showing where home sales fail to close at the highest pace.

These are the cities showing where home sales fail to close at the highest pace.

I don’t have any verifiable statistics on what percentage of Greater Baton Rouge home sales fail to close, nor such a source of information.

Why The Increase In Failed Sales Now? In my opinion, 2 reasons are:

Failue to actually measure new listings based on national ANSI standards
Some Agents fail to measuring new listings and I know for verified fact some Greater Baton Rouge REALTORS don’t know what “living area” is based on ANSI standards. In fact, the first 3 purchase appraisals I completed in 2017 were measured incorrectly in the 70’s, 80’s and 101 square foot range. One of these sales was in the $140/sf range. Is that a consumer problem, issue? It should be a concern. Is it OK for your CPA to be off on your income by $10,000? Think about it! It’s not OK for an Agent to simply copy or clone the previous MLS listing of your home because that previous Agent may not have even measured your home either.

TIP: Make sure if you hire a local REALTOR, they either physically measure your home themselves and provide you with a professional sketch showing your living area verification and/or they hire a professional to measure your home based on ANSI standards providing you with a verfied accurate sketch.

Agents ARE NOT deducting hefty seller paid concessions when they run the easy cloud CMA’s or comparative market analysis.

When that home sells for $168,900, with the seller paying $8,000 in closing cost assistance, the home actually sold for $160,900, not $168,900. The seller is leaving the closing table with $160,900 before paying Agent commission. Whether Appraisers are deducting all or part of the concession when using said sale as a future comparable, Agents don’t realize concessions are being deducted. And, when that Appraiser deducts that concession and the home under contract appraises “Low”, then it’s that Darn Appraiser’s fault when in reality it was the Agent’s fault for not deducting the artificial fluff of the concession. In Greater Baton Rouge housing, seller paid have become the oxygen making sales happen. If sellers weren’t willing to pay that $6,000 to $9,000 in closing cost assistance, then some sales would not take place at all. It’s my estimate seller paid concessions overinflate Baton Rouge home prices to the tune of almost 2 percent. That’s artificial fluff and Agents use MLS CMAs each day to price new listings without deducting concessions.

About Bill Cobb, Appraiser

The Baton Rouge Residential Appraisal Blog is an information source provided by local Home Appraiser, Bill Cobb, and Accurate Valuations Group. Bill has 24 years experience as a Baton Rouge Residential Home Appraiser and updates his local network of sites weekly with reports, videos and audio reviews of local housing market conditions! 225-293-1500