Uptown Blog New Square Footage Policy | Main Menu | ||||||||||
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While Charlotte is defying the nationally declining real estate market, the Carolina Multiple Listing Services have implemented a new policy that is the most substantial change that Charlotte has ever seen. This new policy is to no longer advertise the exact size of homes but to advertise homes as falling in a range of sizes.
Here’s how it will work. A homes exact size will be manipulated so that the possible low end and the possible high end will be no where near the exact size of the home. The formula used to manipulate these numbers is as follows: 10% of the exact size will be reduced from the actual number and will then be rounded down to the nearest hundred to establish the low end—then 5% will be added to the actual size and then rounded up to the nearest hundred. Seem confusing? Here is an example: A 1,060sf condo would be reduced by 10% (106sf) and then rounded down to the nearest hundred to establish the lowest limit (900sf). 5% (53sf) would then be added to the original number which would then be rounded up. (1,200sf). So. for advertising purposes the home would be advertised between 900-1,200sf You may be wondering, “Why in the world would they do something stupid like that?” The President of the CMLS in the March issue of Realtor Reflections attempted to define the logic behind the decision stated, “In the opinion of the CMLS Board of Directors, Square footage has been given too much importance by buyers, sellers and real estate agents in our region. Home sales should be based on whether a property meets the buyer’s needs not specific square footage.” There are many important questions that could result from a statement like this. One of them might be, “How is it that a committee of individuals that are dedicated to serving the public can determine that the mindset of the people they serve is incorrect?” Or, “Who are they to make that decision?” Part of their justification for the change, which occurred behind closed doors without any public input, is that Greensboro and Raleigh have worked with this system for years. In response to buyers who care about the actual size of the home, the CMLS board says they can measure the house themselves. The real reason behind it all is called LIABILITY. The real reason the CMLS board changed their policy is because Realtors were getting sued over falsely advertising the size of homes. So in order to reduce the liability on Realtors, the size of homes will be thrown into a huge range so that the actual size has a good chance of being somewhere in that range. If the actual size of the home falls in that range, Listings Agents can’t be held responsible. That is called CYA. So when you go to buy or sell a home and your time is being wasted because a home’s size is being misrepresented, you can thank your local CMLS Board for trying to reduce the liability on the agents who don’t measure their properties.My personal policy will be to advertise the size of the home in the remarks section of each of my listings. I believe it is a disservice to each member of the public when Realtors fail to accurately represent the size of a home. |
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