Pricing property right blends art and science. Particularly in a market like this one, in which both sales prices and sales volume have softened from month-to-month, analysis, while critically important, can only help so much. While we know a sale of a similar property took place three months ago, how do we compare this price to today's property value? Values in today’s market change from month-to-month. Since prices do not become public until after a sale closes, and since a period of three to four months often elapses between contract signing and closing, sales prices are already out of date by the time they become public. Would Ken Griffin's penthouse at 220 Central Park South, which was no doubt signed for some time ago, still be worth $238 million to him if he bought it today? Who knows? In this environment, what are agents and sellers (not to mention buyers) to do? Here are a few suggestions: Use Your Relationships. The most useful comparable sales in a
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