Listing Prices Become Irrelevant
June 7, 2012
Having shown many properties to prospective buyers one thing has become very apparent.
Listing prices have little to do with the actual selling prices especially on short sales or foreclosures. Here’s the problem.
The listing price is set by the agent and the owner. Often that price is simply “made up” and is a “loss leader”. The banks then enter the picture and their approved price may be 10% higher or even more.
Recently my client’s had a back up offer in place on a condo listed at $215,000. The banks counter was $240,000 or more. Not even close to the listed price.
This only hurts the consumer and continues to reinforce the “Realtors can’t be trusted” perception.
One bank is now offering a pre-approval on short sales by setting the price before any offers come in. We’ll see how that plays out.
For now it’s business as (un)usual in the real estate business.
