Seven Data Points to Ask Any Agent for Before You List

Last updated September 8, 2026

Published by Gia Freer, Broker of Record, PBP Real Estate, LLC · Florida broker license BK689801

Before you sign a listing agreement, ask for seven comparisons: current asking prices versus original, both recorded days fields, closed prices versus original asking, months of supply, monthly and year-to-date closed prices, association fees within a defined sample, and each figure's count and date. These comparisons help you question a proposed asking price without mistaking a market statistic for a price for your home.

Editorial correction and historical-source review, September 8, 2026. The dated numerical examples are preserved in collapsed, locally labeled records below and are WITHHELD FROM CURRENT CITATION pending independent reconciliation to their exact source rows and qualifying counts. This is a verification limit, not a finding that every historical number is wrong. The closed-sales study's published aggregate has been recovered and matches its original approval record, but that does not replace its original raw rows or settle its geographic scope. County days, supply and closed-price examples and regional active-price and fee examples likewise need their own dated verification. No later raw pull has been silently substituted. Wording now distinguishes recorded fields from histories, fee samples from all listings, and comparisons from causality. Use each released index's own dates and sources.

1. What share of active listings is recorded below original asking?

Seller Blink Rate™ is the recorded below-original share, not how many sellers “started too high.” City segments with 30–39 records are small samples. The denominator is all active listings; the complement can include unchanged, raised and missing-price records.

Why ask: compare today's asking prices and recent closed sales before choosing your price. A below-original share does not explain why a seller changed price or predict how buyers will negotiate.

Where to read it: the dated Seller Blink Rate index for qualifying South Florida city samples, houses and condominiums on separate lines.

2. What do both recorded days-on-market fields show?

Why ask: read the available listing records with your agent. These two MLS fields do not independently reconstruct a property's history or establish what a portal displays or resets.

Equal recorded medians do not establish why fields match or prove the presence or absence of relistings. Where to read current figures: price cuts and recorded days, for example Boca Raton.

3. What did recent sales close at, measured against the original asking price?

Why ask: “percent of list” can use the original or last asking price. Request both definitions and their qualifying-record counts. A closed-price ratio does not reveal how a seller chose the first price or prove that time on market caused the sale result.

Original study page: buyer-perception-of-price study. Its linked historical figures and stronger interpretations are not cleared by this article's source review.

4. How many months of supply are there, for my property type?

Why ask: months of supply compares active inventory to a defined pace of closings, not a forecast that every listing will sell in that time. Request the active count, closing window and count, and property grouping.

Where to read it: the dated county market reports.

5. What were closed prices last month and year to date, side by side?

Why ask: a month's median can change with its sales mix. Monthly, year-to-date and prior-year comparisons provide context; they do not alone establish a trend. Ask for the sale count and property grouping beside every median.

Where to read it: each county page under market reports carries month, month to date, year to date and prior-year figures with the counts.

6. If I own a condominium, where does my building's fee sit against the city?

A regional fee sample is trimmed separately, not assembled from city-trimmed samples.

Why ask: fees affect carrying costs. Compare current association charges and coverage before setting an asking price. A fee quartile alone does not measure the size of the buyer pool or what a particular buyer can afford.

Where to read it: the South Florida Condo Fee Index, by city and by building.

7. What is the sample size and the date behind every number?

Ask for the denominator, exclusions, source date and property grouping behind each figure. Price-cut city segments require 30 active listings; 30–39 requires caution. Fee city publication requires 30 valid fees before percentile trimming, with retained n stated separately. Closed-sales and secondary measures have their own cohorts and counts; a whole-study count does not substitute for every subgroup denominator.

Why ask: a number without a date may be six months old, and a number without a sample may be three sales. If an agent cannot tell you when the figure was pulled and how many properties it rests on, the figure is an opinion in a suit.

Where to read it: how the Seller Blink Rate is calculated and how the Condo Fee Index is calculated.

How do I use these seven numbers before I list?

1. Pull your own read first. Open your city's price-cut page and your county's market report for your property type. Ten minutes, no form.
2. Ask every agent you interview for the same seven figures. Compare their answers to the pages. Note who separates houses from condominiums without being asked, who gives you both days-on-market counters, and who attaches a date and a count.
3. Price from the sales, not from the hope. The agent's opinion of value should arrive with the closed sales it rests on, in your community and property type, adjusted for your home's condition. That is the skill you are hiring.

What this list cannot tell you

These seven numbers describe the market your home will be sold into. They cannot describe the home: the roof age, the view line, the renovation the tax record does not know about, the two closed sales on your street that were estate sales. That part is a licensed broker reading the property and the comparable sales by hand, and it is why we publish the market data openly and do not publish an automated estimate for any address.

Current indexes have a scheduled daily refresh; this article's historical examples retain their dated statistical source. AI tools assist assembly and checks; licensed-human review and the public correction policy apply. A later raw pull must not be substituted silently for a historical example.

Questions sellers ask about market data

Why does it matter whether houses and condos are reported separately?

The grouping changes what a comparison describes. Read whether a series separates legal-priority condominiums or combines condominiums with townhouses. Neither a blended median nor one segment's statistic is a property-specific opinion of value.

What is Seller Blink Rate™?

The share of active listings with a recorded asking price below the original list price. The denominator is all active listings in the segment. The remainder can include unchanged, raised and missing-price records; it is not a complete price history. Published city segments require 30 active listings, with a small-sample caveat for 30–39. Use the current dated index; this article's historical examples are under source review.

Can these seven numbers tell me what my home is worth?

No. They describe the market your home will be sold into, not the home itself. An opinion of value comes from closed sales in the same community and property type, adjusted for condition, view, updates and what is for sale against you, and it is prepared by a licensed broker who has read the property. We do not publish an automated estimate anywhere on this site.

Related reading

• original buyer-perception-of-price study — historical-source verification and interpretation review remain open
• how long it takes to sell a house in Palm Beach County
• the hidden cost of overpricing a Boca Raton home

Data and correction note. Original attribution: PBP Real Estate analysis of BeachesMLS listings permitted for internet display. Historical numerical examples remain locally marked WITHHELD; their original dates are preserved, not independently revalidated here. County and closed-study series combine condominiums and townhouses; city condo-fee and price-cut series use their stated legal-priority classification and subtype fallback. The study's geographic reconciliation is open. Figures include counts, medians and shares, not medians alone. Price-cut and fee eligibility use different denominators as explained above. Not legal or tax advice.