These are questions we answer every day, and most people assume the answer is found in some objective data. Look at the comps and at the square footage, condition, location and lot size. They are not wrong.
That data is the foundation of how we price homes and estimate value, but that's only one part of the story. Then there are the intangibles.
Sometimes it's how the afternoon light hits the living room. Or the glorious view of the Golden Gate from the dining room. Or a garden that feels as though it belongs to an English cottage.
And sometimes the reasons are even more personal. Perhaps the buyers have been looking for years and are ready to stop searching. Perhaps they're expecting a child and need more space. Perhaps Mom lives next door. Perhaps it's the neighborhood they always dreamed of, or the street they walk every evening.
Those things don't show up in a comparative market analysis. Yet they're every bit as real.
That's why value will be different for everyone, depending on their life and where they are in that life.
The list price is a strategy. The sales price is a reflection of what a home means to the people who want it.
Recently, we saw this happen with two District Homes listings in the Berkeley Hills. 131 Montrose, listed at $1,475,000, sold for $2,600,000—76% above asking. 938 San Benito, listed at $1,375,000, sold for $2,175,000—58% above asking. Both received more than ten offers and exceeded our expectations.
We chose the list price based on the objective measurements, but the sales price reflected the love that buyers felt for the house.
Because value is not just based on the numbers. Sometimes, it's created by timing, sometimes by circumstance. And sometimes, by love.
