Essential Home Sellers Guide
Every claim, with its source
This is the live version of the Sources page in our printed sellers guide. A printed page freezes on the day it is printed, and several of these figures move monthly — so this one gets re-dated and every source is a working link.
If a number is worth putting in front of you, it is worth telling you where it came from and when it was published — so you can check it, and so you can ask the next agent you interview for the same thing. Meet the team.
What our own record shows
96.5%
Of our listings sold
93.4%
The rest of the market
82 of the 85 that reached an outcome.
98.52%
Of original list price
98.32%
The rest of the market
Parity. We price to the market, not to win the listing.
43.9%
Sold at or above original
41.6%
The rest of the market
Measured against each home’s original list price, not its last one.
82 closed listings, 2018-06-15 to 2026-08-11, against 4,236 closings by every other agent across the same 36 ZIP codes. Listing side only; attributed by MLS member ID. Our 22 years licensed are the sum of each agent’s own, every one checkable against the Pennsylvania State Real Estate Commission.
And the number we do not publish: a days-on-market comparison. Measured three defensible ways, the gap against the market lands in different directions, so it supports no claim either way. We would rather give you one honest omission than a flattering figure you cannot check.
How to read these sources
- Primary · 25
- The organisation that produced or governs the fact, in its own words.
- Law · 2
- Pennsylvania statute or regulation.
- Reported · 8
- A publication reporting someone else’s data. Named so you can weigh it.
- Vendor · 1
- A company measuring its own product. Useful, but not independent — we say so on the page, not in a footnote.
- Our MLS record · 7
- Computed from West Penn MLS closed-sale records by script, never retyped. Method available on request.
- Stated by us · 5
- Our own credential, which we assert and document rather than cite.
The sources, numbered as in the printed guide
- 1.
we do not claim to sell faster than the market, because our own record will not support it in either direction
Our MLS record · The Thurber Team's own listings vs all other agents, West Penn MLS, 2026-09-16
Computed from West Penn MLS closed-sale records; method available on request. - 2.
Active residential listings, Pittsburgh metro: 6,168
Primary · Realtor.com residential listings, Pittsburgh CBSA, via FRED, 2026-08-31
https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/ACTLISCOU38300 - 3.
Median days on market, Pittsburgh metro: 53 days
Primary · Realtor.com median days on market, Pittsburgh CBSA, via FRED, 2026-08-31
https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/MEDDAYONMAR38300 - 4.
the price premium new construction used to command over resale went negative — about -2% — in April 2026, the first time in five decades
Reported · John Burns Research & Consulting, 2026-07-15
https://fortune.com/2026/07/15/cheaper-buy-new-home-old-resale-generation-boomers-sellers/ - 5.
60% of builders were using sales incentives — the thirteenth consecutive month at or above that level — and 36% were cutting prices
Reported · NAHB Housing Market Index, April 2026, 2026-04-30
https://www.nahb.org/news-and-economics/housing-economics/indices/housing-market-index - 6.
Allegheny County common level ratio, tax year 2026: 50.14%
Primary · Pennsylvania State Tax Equalization Board, via the PA Department of Revenue — Allegheny County, tax year 2026, 2026-01-01
https://www.pa.gov/agencies/revenue/resources/tax-types-and-information/realty-transfer-tax/common-level-ratios - 7.
Allegheny County common level ratio, tax year 2027: 49.3%
Primary · Pennsylvania State Tax Equalization Board, via the PA Department of Revenue — Allegheny County, tax year 2027, 2026-07-01
https://www.pa.gov/agencies/revenue/resources/tax-types-and-information/realty-transfer-tax/common-level-ratios - 8.
Butler County uses an entirely different assessment regime and an August 1 appeal deadline
Primary · Butler County Assessment Department, 2026-09-16
https://www.butlercountypa.gov/328/Assessment - 9.
every price recommendation is built from West Penn MLS closed-sale records by our own comparable-sales engine, not from a portal estimate
Our MLS record · knowledge-base comp_engine, 2026-09-16
Produced by our own analysis tooling; method available on request. - 10.
It is not an appraisal and can't be used in place of an appraisal
Primary · Zillow, What is a Zestimate?, 2026-08-18
https://www.zillow.com/zestimate/ - 11.
Zestimate median error, homes already on the market: 1.83%
Primary · Zillow, 2026-04-24
https://www.zillow.com/how-much-is-my-home-worth/ - 12.
Fannie Mae's Selling Guide tells appraisers that a rule-of-thumb per-square-foot adjustment is inappropriate when the market indicates otherwise
Primary · Fannie Mae Selling Guide B4-1.3-09, 2025-06-04
https://selling-guide.fanniemae.com/sel/b4-1.3-09/adjustments-comparable-sales - 13.
in Zillow's analysis of 2025 sales, homes listed in the last two weeks of May sold for about 2.2% more — roughly $4,800 on a typical Pittsburgh-area home
Primary · Zillow Research, best time to list, 2026-03-18
https://www.zillow.com/research/best-time-to-list-2026/ - 14.
homes that went under contract around the four-week mark closed 1.8 percentage points higher, as a share of list price, than the average home sold that month
Reported · Realtor.com data, via PR Newswire, 2026-06-11
https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/by-week-four-your-listing-is-either-getting-offers-or-price-cuts-302797293.html - 15.
Howard Hanna agents only while the home is being prepared, then Find It First to Howard Hanna's own buyers for two to three days, then live on the MLS — which also carries a free week of Facebook advertising
Stated by us · Attested by Terrence Thurber
Confirmed by us; documentation on file. - 16.
that clock does not apply to an exclusive company listing where the seller elects on the Listing Contract that the broker will not use an MLS to advertise the property
Primary · West Penn Multi-List Rules & Regulations, effective June 29 2026, 2026-06-29
https://www.westpennmls.com/wp-content/uploads/RR-Cover-Page-TOC-9-10-2025.pdf - 17.
Howard Hanna's HannaList, built with West Penn Multi-List and MLS Now, shares a listing with Howard Hanna buyer agents before it reaches the MLS — live in Western Pennsylvania since April 2026
Reported · Inman, 2026-03-11
https://www.inman.com/2026/03/11/howard-hanna-launches-private-listing-network-hannalist/ - 18.
NAR's Multiple Listing Options for Sellers policy, effective March 25 2025, lets an MLS offer a delayed-marketing status — but the length and the availability are set by each local MLS
Primary · National Association of Realtors, 2025-03-25
https://www.nar.realtor/about-nar/policies/multiple-listing-options-for-sellers - 19.
West Penn Multi-List's current rulebook has no coming-soon or delayed-marketing status at all; the 2020 edition had one that held the days-on-market clock until a listing went active, and it is gone
Primary · West Penn Multi-List Rules & Regulations, 2020 and 2026 editions compared, 2026-09-17
https://www.westpennmls.com/wp-content/uploads/Rules-Regs-06-01-2020.pdf - 20.
Realtor.com sells premium placement through Spotlight Listings, and Homes.com routes every listing-page inquiry to the listing agent rather than reselling it as a lead
Vendor · Realtor.com via PR Newswire; Homes.com, 2025-11-12
https://www.homes.com/solutions/boost/agents - 21.
we profile the most likely buyer for a specific home — who they are and which cities they are searching from — from our own listing-traffic and buyer-graph data
Our MLS record · knowledge-base listing_presentation, 2026-09-16
Produced by our own analysis tooling; method available on request. - 22.
Howard Hanna and Zillow entered a named agreement in February 2024, with Cleveland and Pittsburgh as the two launch markets
Primary · Zillow newsroom, 2024-02-28
https://www.zillow.com/news/howard-hanna-partners-with-showingtime-to-provide-elevated-listing-experience-on-zillow/ - 23.
designed to not exceed 10% of listings in a market
Primary · Zillow press release, 2025-09-30
https://zillow.mediaroom.com/2025-09-30-More-than-50-brokerages-adopt-Zillow-Showcase-as-go-to-tool-for-listing-marketing-innovation - 24.
less than 1% of listings on Zillow
Primary · Zillow Showcase substantiation page, 2026-07-08
https://www.zillow.com/pro/showcase-facts/ - 25.
we hold Showcase allocation and we pay for it — it is not billed to you
Stated by us · Attested by Terrence Thurber, 2026-09-16
Confirmed by us; documentation on file. - 26.
Zillow publishes no rate card for Showcase
Primary · Zillow Showcase product page routes to Contact Sales, 2026-07-21
https://www.zillow.com/pro/showcase/ - 27.
Zillow Preferred is the next evolution of the Flex program, our exclusive, invite-only program for agents and teams
Primary · Zillow Preferred FAQ, 2026-06-15
https://www.zillow.com/preferred/faq/ - 28.
a 40% success fee on seller-originated connections, in all markets
Primary · Zillow Preferred pricing, 2026-08-25
https://www.zillow.com/preferred/pricing/ - 29.
a 4% predicted conversion rate and a 25% call pickup rate
Primary · Zillow Preferred program standards, 2026-08-20
https://www.zillow.com/preferred/program-standards/ - 30.
a listing that was gated behind a private network is not displayed on Zillow for as long as it remains with the same listing agent or brokerage, regardless of any amended or subsequent listing agreement
Primary · Zillow Listing Access Standards, 2026-03-17
https://www.zillow.com/c/info/zillow-listing-access-standards/ - 31.
appraised value has historically equalled or exceeded the contract price on more than nine out of ten purchase mortgage applications
Reported · Fannie Mae research, 2020-10-01
https://www.fanniemae.com/media/48126/display - 32.
appraisal issues delayed about 7% of contracts, and 6% of contracts were terminated for any reason at all
Primary · NAR REALTORS Confidence Index, 2026-06-09
https://www.nar.realtor/research-and-statistics/research-reports/realtors-confidence-index - 33.
Pennsylvania's revised Appraisal Contingency Addendum gives a buyer a clean right to terminate with the deposit returned if the appraisal comes in below the stated minimum — a right the mortgage contingency alone does not provide
Reported · Pennsylvania Association of Realtors, 2025-08-29
https://www.parealtors.org/blog/appraisal-contingency-addendum-changes/ - 34.
federal interagency guidance requires lenders to have a reconsideration-of-value process, which is the real remedy for a low appraisal
Primary · Federal Register, interagency ROV guidance, 2024-07-26
https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2024/07/26/2024-16200/interagency-guidance-on-reconsiderations-of-value-of-residential-real-estate-valuations - 35.
transfers by a fiduciary in the administration of an estate or trust are exempt from Pennsylvania's Real Estate Seller Disclosure Law
Law · 68 Pa.C.S. § 7302(a)(1), 2026-09-16
https://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/legis/LI/consCheck.cfm?txtType=HTM&ttl=68 - 36.
the seller must approve any payment to a buyer's broker in writing, in advance, and the approval must specify the amount or rate
Primary · National Association of Realtors, 2024-07-02
https://www.nar.realtor/the-facts/home-sellers-what-the-nar-settlement-means - 37.
the average buyer's-agent commission rose to 2.42% in the third quarter of 2025, up from 2.36% a year earlier
Reported · Redfin, 2025-12-08
https://www.redfin.com/news/press-releases/the-average-buyers-agent-commission-has-risen-slightly-since-new-nar-rules-went-into-effect/ - 38.
for-sale-by-owner fell to 5% of sales, an all-time low, while 91% of sellers used an agent
Primary · NAR 2025 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers, 2025-11-04
https://www.nar.realtor/sites/default/files/2025-11/2025-profile-of-home-buyers-and-sellers-highlights-11-04-2025.pdf - 39.
70% of homes listed in September 2025 were still unsold after 60 days
Reported · Redfin data, reported by CNBC, 2025-11-25
https://www.cnbc.com/2025/11/25/home-sellers-delisting-redfin.html - 40.
for a listing Zillow does not receive from an MLS, only after 31 or more consecutive days completely off-market; for an MLS-fed listing the counter follows the On Market Timestamp the MLS supplies
Primary · Zillow Help Center, How is the Time on Zillow determined, 2023-12-12
https://zillow.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/214734988-How-is-the-Time-on-Zillow-determined - 41.
98.5% of original list price, against a market median of 98.3%
Our MLS record · The Thurber Team's own closed listings vs all other agents, West Penn MLS, 2026-09-16
Computed from West Penn MLS closed-sale records; method available on request. - 42.
82 closed listings between June 2018 and August 2026
Our MLS record · The Thurber Team's own closed listings, West Penn MLS, 2026-09-16
Computed from West Penn MLS closed-sale records; method available on request. - 43.
220 closed sales totalling $85,722,864
Our MLS record · teamthurber.com generated sales statistics, 2026-06-11
Generated from our own transaction and review records, not retyped. - 44.
79 client reviews averaging 5.0
Our MLS record · teamthurber.com generated review statistics, 2026-06-11
Generated from our own transaction and review records, not retyped. - 45.
a 5-star rating on Zillow
Stated by us · Attested by Terrence Thurber; Zillow agent profile, 2026-09-16
https://www.zillow.com/profile/terrencethurber - 46.
Howard Hanna Champions Club members in 2025 and 2026
Stated by us · Howard Hanna Champions Club award notice, attested by Terrence Thurber, 2026-09-16
Confirmed by us; documentation on file. - 47.
Pittsburgh Business Journal, Who's Who in Residential Real Estate, April 22 2026
Stated by us · Pittsburgh Business Journal, attested by Terrence Thurber, 2026-04-22
Confirmed by us; documentation on file. - 48.
Pennsylvania requires a licensee's advertising to carry the employing broker's business name and telephone number in type equal in size to the licensee's
Law · 49 Pa. Code § 35.305(c), 2026-09-16
https://www.pacodeandbulletin.gov/Display/pacode?file=/secure/pacode/data/049/chapter35/s35.305.html
Want the guide itself?
The printed edition covers how we price, prepare, launch and negotiate a home in the North Hills — including the local situations that cost people money, and the compensation decisions that are yours to make.
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