Real Estate Search Blog

The GRI designation is considered the nation’s number one real estate designation. Only 19% of realtors in the United States have obtained this designation. The GRI (Graduate Realtor Institute designation) is administered and given by the National Association of Realtors. The designation is comparable to the accounting industry’s CPA (Certified Public Accountant) designation and the financial industry’s CFP(Certified Financial Planner) designation.

Charles Cherney of Hammond Residential is one real estate agent serving the Cambridge, MA area who has obtained the GRI designation. He has completed about 90 hours of classroom instruction on various topics including recognizing and addressing potential legal issues, tax policies, types of mortgage programs, fair housing laws, basics of building construction, and the home inspection process. GRI programs differ by state in order to educate participants on their own local and state real estate practices.

What does this mean for the home buyer or seller? Choosing a real estate agent with the GRI designation means you are working with one of the best and most knowledgeable real estate agents in your state and in the country. Your real estate agent will provide you with a high level of professionalism and in-depth knowledge of every step in your home-buying or home-selling journey. A real estate agent with the GRI designation is theoretically involved in all parts of the home buying or home selling process. While other agents must put blind faith into a home inspector’s findings, an agent with the GRI designation fully understands each detail and will be able to explain the results and further courses of action to the home owner.

Buying a home will most likely be the largest single investment you will make in your lifetime. Only a real estate agent with the GRI designation will understand every detail in the home-buying process, and will be able to provide you with the high quality of service needed to steer you through the process.

Once you’ve got the question out of the way as to whether you should or shouldn’t list, the next step is to figure out what your Fall River home will sell for. However, what you want to get for that home and what the house is actually worth are very often two different things. As you might expect, there are a few factors that you can consider when setting a price for your home.

Setting The List Price

One of the biggest mistakes that sellers make in today’s market is clinging to antiquated prices. Asking what the neighbors paid for their home several years ago is not relevant in today’s market. There are several things that you need to look at.

1. Find out what cycle the market is in. Whether you’re listing in a buyer’s or seller’s market makes all the difference in what you can ask for your home. The position of the market will determine whether prices are moving up or down
2. You’ll need to look at the supply of homes on the market as well. If there’s a surplus of Fall River homes like yours for sale, that will effect what you can ask.
3. Another factor that can influence home prices are neighborhood amenities. Is the home near a school or a park? Is there a lakefront view? How close are shopping and industrial centers? Be sure to consider these factors when setting a price for your home as well.