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Riddle me this....

LaocoonLaocoon
edited July 2008 in Seattle Real Estate
What could possibly possess someone to take this approach to pricing? Is there a method to this madness?

1100 sq ft
2+2 townhouse in SLU area

May 08, 2008 $419,950
May 31, 2008 $399,950
Jun 19, 2008 $379,950
Jul 08, 2008 $429,950

http://www.redfin.com/WA/Seattle/1704-Dexter-Ave-N-98109/unit-A/home/12518229

Comments

  • UbersaladUbersalad
    Perhaps the owner read the latest NWMLS data and also saw "positive" indication.
  • Civil ServantCivil Servant
    I have seen a handful of listings in the last month or so that went from Active to STI then after a few weeks end up back on the market with a higher asking price. The latest:

    http://www.redfin.com/WA/Seattle/1020-B ... ome/144379 -- someone took the bait at $545K in mid-June.

    Is that maybe what's happened with your listing, L (love the handle btw)? I don't understand it either.
  • rose-colored-coolaidrose-colored-coolaid
    Laocoon wrote:
    What could possibly possess someone to take this approach to pricing? Is there a method to this madness?

    I've got two theories about these places.

    1) They've noticed people are lowballing. They really want to sell for $380k, but keep getting 10% lowballs. So they said...what price will get us what we want even with the lowball and they picked that.

    2) Urgency. "Like this home?" they challenge, then you'd better buy it now, because we're so crazy that we might just raise the price another $20k!
  • ira sira s
    Maybe they slapped on a coat of paint and some lovely granite countertops.
  • Civil ServantCivil Servant
    RCC, #1 is a good call. But does it make sense from the perspective of a seller who's already had an offer fall through? I was assuming that the reason for the recent spate of STI-back-to-Active listings was that would-be sellers couldn't make the financing happen in a less forgiving mortgage market (rather than that the inspection turned up something ugly) -- so from the buyer's point of view, if those to whom your house appeals can't afford it at x, why go up to x + y instead of (a) keeping the price where it was or (b) taking it off the market for a while?
  • Civil ServantCivil Servant
    above: s/b "would-be buyers"
  • LaocoonLaocoon
    @ubersalad -- I was actually thinking that. I guess hope springs eternal. You'd have to be pretty damn optimistic, though, to see that blip as an excuse to suddenly go up $50k, especially in light of the number of townhouses on the market.

    @Civil Servant -- Thanks, it's a name I've used for awhile on teh internets. That link is a great example of this delusion, and the increase came on July 8, too. Interesting. I know a lot of people went up when they raised the jumbo loan amount. At least there was a reason then (as weak as it was.) What the hell happened this week?

    @rose-colored koolaid -- I like the "crazy" explanation. Maybe someone will jump into their one-person bidding war. Shoot, they may as well run it up to $1 million. It would have the same chance of selling.
  • deejayohdeejayoh
    Same trick on Unit B in the same complex
    http://www.redfin.com/WA/Seattle/1704-D ... e/12435601

    Likely thing IMO is that they sold unit "C" for a higher price and so figured they'd raise the price on the remaining units.
  • UbersaladUbersalad
    i like the lovely dark paint exterior...not!
  • Civil ServantCivil Servant
    I like how the living area is so tiny that the sofa faces directly into the kitchen. (See photos -- the refrigerator placement seems temporary, but there is no mistaking the room's skimpy proportions.)

    Thanks, Deejayoh, for solving the mystery. I'm going to add these two to my Redfin Favorites and see how this plays out.
  • deejayohdeejayoh
    Civil Servant wrote:
    Thanks, Deejayoh, for solving the mystery. I'm going to add these two to my Redfin Favorites and see how this plays out.

    np. if you track on estately or zip you will get an email when it sells or price change. not sure redfin does this yet. last time I used favorites there, it sucked. have they improved?
  • bilirubenbiliruben
    They tell you price changes if open houses are scheduled, or when it goes contingent, but I think if it goes straight to STI, they don't tell you (though it gets pushed into the off the market category in your favorites.
  • buybuydandavisbuybuydandavis
    Civil Servant wrote:
    I have seen a handful of listings in the last month or so that went from Active to STI then after a few weeks end up back on the market with a higher asking price. The latest:

    http://www.redfin.com/WA/Seattle/1020-B ... ome/144379 -- someone took the bait at $545K in mid-June.
    I looked into that property. It was a short sale.

    I think anytime you're involved in a short sale, the original asking price and any accepted offer based on it is probably next to meaningless. The banks don't seem to want to do any work on a short sale until they have an accepted offer between buyer and seller and a half dozen backup offers in hand. Then they'll bother to appraise the property and qualify the seller as a short sale. If the appraisal comes in much higher, or a lot of interest is shown in the property, they'll just raise the price and try again. I'd guess that's what happened with the property linked above.

    The magic of a short sale is that they are contingent on seller's bank approval, so that a signed agreement with the seller means nothing.

    They're playing the car salesman trick. You make a deal with the floor salesman (seller), then he has to clear it with the manager (seller's bank).
  • bilirubenbiliruben
    Who knew you could buy a condo in Monroe?!? Half price, 2 years from now.
  • Lake Hills RenterLake Hills Renter
    There's condos in Monroe? But why?!
  • perfectfireperfectfire
    People need a place to get on the property space elevator.
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