This post is for agents, but it might apply to many different professions.
I always stress to our agents that in this business, you have to be proactive when you see a potential listing opportunity, or another agent will figure it out and jump on it before you do. It's too competitive to sit on your hands and wait for deals to come to you. When that lack of effort results in your potentially losing a listing opportunity in your own neighborhood, it stings, but you have no one to blame but yourself. That just happened to me twice in about a week.
The two signs you see are on two lots on Estelle Lane in Lucas. Both have old homes on them, which I guessed were probably in teardown condition, so all the value is in the wooded lots. Lots with trees are impossible to find in either Lucas or Fairview unless you buy a home on a wooded lot and tear it down. And believe me, that's happening quite a bit in these two towns.
I've driven Estelle countless times over the 27 years we've lived out here, and I can't tell you how many times I've told myself I need to go knock on the doors of these old homes and ask the owners if they'd be interested in selling. They might have no idea how valuable their property has become, especially if they've lived here for a long time. Like most Realtors, I don't want to be intrusive, but in my younger days, I would have absolutely knocked on those doors. And now, I'm probably paying the price.
Two weeks ago, I noticed a sign on a lot for sale on the left side of Estelle. It's priced at $1 million for 5 acres. That's $250K per acre, and not surprisingly, it went under contract quickly. Unless there was a bidding war that drove the price up, it will be a screaming deal for whoever buys it. If it were my listing, I would have suggested starting at least at $1.49 million, or $298K per acre. Two-acre lots in new developments in Lucas will be in the $750K range, and the only trees you'll get might be some at the rear of the property.
To rub salt in the wound, I saw another sign go up on the right side of Estelle not long after. Same scenario, a teardown home on a wooded lot, but this one is 7 acres in size, and it's priced at $1.7 million, or $243K per acre. Frankly, I would have tested the market higher on this tract, too, and here's why: I wrote a Facebook post a while back about the six most popular exterior features buyers want in Fairview and Lucas. This tract could have all six, which is amazing! Here's that Facebook post. Not surprisingly, it's now under contract, too. This will appeal to either a developer or an individual for their own property.
We have had five sales on Estelle over the years, both lots and homes, including a $3 million home just 1,500 feet away. We know that street better than anyone, and it sure would have been nice to at least provide our opinion of value.
Of course, there's a good chance we wouldn't have gotten either of those listings even if we'd met with the sellers. Maybe there was a relationship there between the sellers and their agents, and it wouldn't have mattered if I'd knocked on those doors or not. I'd sure feel better if that were the case but I'll never know.
