Loading ...Interesting case in San Diego, where an unhappy home buyer is suing their Realtor, alleging that they overpaid for their home because the Realtor withheld sales information that indicated a lower value for the property they purchased. Here is a short segment from The Today show explaining the background.
Certainly, no one likes to purchase a house and find out that the value has declined. However, Realtors don’t control the direction of the market. And there is no state law that homes in California can only go up in value (as if we all needed to be reminded of that right now).
If, as alleged, their Realtor purposely withheld relevant information (for example, pending or closed sales on the MLS) with the intent to deceive the buyer, then they have every right to be upset and to seek recourse. The Realtor has a fiduciary responsibility to represent his/her client’s best interest, and if the agent did in fact withhold vital information then they should bear the consequences.
On the other hand, the buyer should take some responsibility for their transaction. The internet is a very powerful tool, and there are multiple channels available for consumers to do their own research on real estate. Sites such as CyberHomes.com, Zillow.com, and others exist where consumers can get neighborhood sales, estimates of value, and other relevant information about any property.
Lastly, real estate is not something that is easy to quantify. There is always a range of value, even within a neighborhood. Factors like upgrades, market conditions, appeal, lot size, location, and even the direction the home faces can have an impact on the sales price of the property. Just because a home sold for less than the subject property does not mean that the subject property is worth less money…. any of these factors can effect the final selling price of the subject property (up or down, for that matter). In this case, just because there were a couple of sales at a lower sales price than the property in question does not in and of itself mean that the buyers were deceived or misled. From a real estate perspective, a property is worth what a willing buyer is willing to pay, and what a willing seller is willing to sell for. And that figure can range depending on the buyer, as most buyers have different factors they value.
I am not an attorney, nor is my intent to comment on the specific allegations of this suit. But it is an interesting case, and one that is fairly topical at the moment given the sluggishness of the market. In a fast moving market like we are in now, it begs the ultimate question…. How do you really tell the value of a property?
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