When your agent’s ‘valuation’ matches Zillow… run! | Eastside Sellers Series

Most sellers start with one question:

“So… what do you think my home is worth?”

Totally fair.
Also the wrong starting point.

If an agent confidently names a price before walking your home, reviewing your upgrades, or understanding your micro-market…

They’re not doing valuation.
They’re doing improv.

And you’re the audience.

1) Micro-Markets Are Real (And Headlines Are Lying to You)

Your home is not “the Seattle market.”
It’s not even “the Bellevue market.”

It’s a three-to-six block radius competing against a handful of homes with:

• Different layouts

• Different light

• Different remodel quality

• Different yard usability

• Different noise exposure

• Different buyer appeal

• Different school boundaries

Two houses on the same street can have a $150,000+ swing in value because:

• One flows, one fights you

• One feels bright, one feels like a cave

• One has a real third bedroom, one has a glorified closet

• One feels “move-in ready,” one feels “project energy”

Anyone quoting you a price off a zip-code average is guessing.

And yes — that includes Zillow Zestimates.

Zillow has never walked through your house.
It doesn’t know your layout quirks, your light quality, your noise exposure, or whether your “fourth bedroom” is actually a den with commitment issues.

A Zestimate is an algorithmic horoscope.

Fun to read.
Terrible to make financial decisions with.

2) Prep and Condition: The Value Multiplier Nobody Talks About

Here’s the uncomfortable truth:

Your home’s condition and presentation strategy can move your value by 5–12%.

That’s not décor fluff.
That’s six figures.

Buyers don’t buy “potential.”
They buy finished perception.

Strategic prep decisions that actually move price:

• Fixing dated surfaces vs. “letting the buyer decide”

• Correcting lighting issues vs. pretending they don’t exist

• Handling small repairs vs. letting buyers invent bigger ones

• Staging around layout flaws vs. highlighting them by accident

• Photographing as premium vs. looking like a rental listing

Same house.
Same market.
Two different prep strategies.

Two wildly different outcomes.

Until I see your actual condition and presentation leverage, any price is fan fiction.

3) Pricing Comes Last — Not First

Real pricing happens after:

• I tour your home

• I assess layout, condition, and buyer objections

• I analyze your micro-market competition

• I model demand depth and absorption

• I factor in prep strategy

• I pressure-test buyer psychology at each price tier

Only then do we land on:

• A defensible list price

• A leverage band

• A negotiation floor

• A stretch scenario

• A “don’t do this” price

That’s valuation.

Anything earlier is just optimism wearing a blazer.

The Real Problem With “Confident Pricing”

Sellers get hurt by two types of agents:

• The “Let’s shoot for the moon” agent

• The “Let’s underprice and pray” agent

Both are avoiding the real work.
Both cost sellers money.

Overpricing doesn’t just delay your sale.
It weakens your leverage.
It trains buyers to wait you out.
It forces reactive price cuts instead of strategic ones.

Confidence feels good.
Accuracy gets paid.

My Advisory Philosophy

I don’t sell hope.
I sell probability.

Your price is not a vibe.
It’s not a Zestimate.
It’s a data-driven strategy built around:

• Your exact home

• Your exact competition

• Your exact buyer pool

• Your exact leverage windows

That’s why I won’t quote you a number before I’ve done the work.

And that’s why my sellers don’t “chase the market down.”

Want a Real Valuation?

Not a headline.
Not a Zestimate.
Not a confident guess.

Contact Us!