For the last ten or eleven months we have experienced an unbelievable real estate market. Im sure most everyone has read about the phenomenal appreciation that home and land sales have garnered. Prices are going up at an incredible rate. Few people, even real estate professionals, truly recognize how crazy it is.

A big part of my job is to research home values for folks who are considering selling their home. Because market conditions are so unusual I have had to abandon the traditional way of determining value and develop a new math for values. The old, traditional method just doesnt hold up anymore and can cost sellers profit. My new process has resulted in my clients continually getting far and away more money than anyone else in the neighborhood. Unfortunately, most agents are still using the old system.

I recently came across a home that sold just a month ago for $35,000 over full price. As this was such a huge number I had to hear more so I called the agent to get the story. He explained to me that there had been no unusual concessions or extenuating circumstances. Rather, within hours of putting the home on the market he received four offers, one of which was for $35,000 over full price. He was not shocked by the disparity between asking price and sales price and was very proud of the job he had done. He further shared that he was mystified to have been accused by a neighboring home owner of selling the home for too little and hurting the neighboring home values. I agree with the neighbor. In my opinion that agent may have cost his client thousands of dollars. Why?

In this market no home should sell in hours or even days. If the agent truly has his clients' best interest at heart the home should take at least two to three weeks to sell. Homes that sell quickly were not priced aggressively enough to begin with and money was left on the table; at the sellers expense. Now Im not suggesting that one prices himself out of the market. But we should all test the waters to see how high we can go. I recently listed a home which I thought would garner about $360,000 at the most. However, I used my new system and decided to start at $399,000. We got a lot of traffic but no offers right away. Instead I received five phone calls from Buyer agents asking me how the heck I could justify such a high price. We ultimately put a deal together for $380,000 and my clients were delighted. I truly believe that our aggressive position put $10,000 to 15,000 extra in their pockets. They have since referred me to several friends and a co-worker.