What to do when no Comps?

[Logan Turner]

So I'm currently living in a boom and bust town. There have been minimal sales in the past 90 days. Not enough to get any comps. How would you all go about evaluating the value of a property, when prices 12 months ago were high, however, the oil scare has nobody buying leaving houses stale on the market. Sellers are still believing their house is valued like in 2014-15 and lack of migration due to job growth slowdown has buyers holding off. So when sellers are asking "too much" and no one is buying, how would you evaluate for comps when there are none? Thanks

[Sarah Ziehr]

Real estate is only worth what someone is willing to pay for and sell for. 

So I would first ask the sellers what they want to sell for- and what they would consider selling for. Do your due diligence and find out their bottom line (what they currently owe, how many years have they enjoyed living there, what improvements they have made). Maybe you will find out the really cannot sell without taking a loss. Then you need to determine why they want to sell. 

Do they need to sell? Do they need to move on? Can they hold tight a few years and wait for buyers to come back around? Are they willing to put the property on the market and let it sit for 6 months? If not, you can price it aggressively and see what happens. Remind them they don't have to accept any offers that come in. 

As for comps I would look back 6 months and also look at what has sold in the last 4 months in the way of condos and townhomes for comparison. Have other properties been sitting on the market and the listings expired or cancelled? Is the subject property something really special? If so, perhaps someone that already lives in the area may want to move up. You can test the market out after you find out the sellers true motivation for listing the property. 

Hope that helps!