Has anybody listed their property for a ridiculously high price and gotten it?

[protagonist]

The real estate market where I live is very hot and there is very little on the market.

I have no need and little desire to sell my home, but, as a lark, I was thinking of listing it for a price way higher than market value (50-100% above), and just leaving it on the market, without putting any effort into selling it. It would involve no effort on my part, and I wouldn't care if it didn't sell.

Has anybody here done this and gotten their asking price?

If so I'd like to hear about your experience.

[michaeljc70]

Good luck getting an agent that wants to bother. Market value already represents the hot market.

[Luckywon]

Doubt you will find an agent to do this. You could list yourself. Then you may have to deal with showing the house potentially to criminals or other opportunists.

[Mike Scott]

What will you do if it sells?

[LiveSimple]

I assume no one will bite...

Also if people want to look at your home, you do need to open for buyers to see...your home

Pure unwanted activities !!! unless you are in a area where houses are less and $$$ is not a constraints for buyers, example Malibu Beach Homes

[ray.james]

Zillow allows a listing for this called - FSBO-make me move. You can list your price, pics and see if it attracts any attention.

[alpenglow]

I have no need and little desire to sell my home, but, as a lark, I was thinking of listing it for a price way higher than market value (50-100% above), and just leaving it on the market, without putting any effort into selling it. It would involve no effort on my part, and I wouldn't care if it didn't sell.

This sounds like half of the listings in the Hamptons (NY) at any given time.

[pizzy]

I think it's a great idea.

Especially since the listing history remains with the property.

[rebellovw]

Only way to get the 50% over current asking is with a great agent. You would begin the process - and the great agent would likely have bites early on and get you an offer where your house never hits the market. This happened with us. As Is and over 50% over asking.

[Luckywon]

What will you do if it sells?

Offer half market value for new homes until someone bites. You never know.

[Jack FFR1846]

Depends on what's considered ridiculously high. We had a house when I went off to grad school. Paid $71k back then. A year and a half later, my graduation requirements were met and the house went on the market with the agent ready to put it up for rent at 5% of the value of the house per month for rent with a dozen people already interested in renting. The 3 real estate agents gave us prices from $71k to $74k. I listed at $81k and got 2 very interested parties bidding. My final counter bid was $80,800 and was accepted.


In similar vein, on the job offer side, I was offered a job and asked what I needed for compensation. I didn't want the job so took what I wanted and doubled it. Their response: ...and how much equity do you need additionally? I had to come back and say that no, I didn't want the job.

[michaeljc70]

What will you do if it sells?

Offer half market value for new homes until someone bites. You never know.

Exactly. LOL. I am in the process of selling and buying and a friend said "you cannot expect to get top dollar for the place you're selling and buy at a discount." I said "apparently you don't know me!" Even though the market is hot with little inventory here, certain properties are hotter than others.

[Jack FFR1846]

What will you do if it sells?

Offer half market value for new homes until someone bites. You never know.

I bought my present house for under 60% of asking. The seller with 3 mortgages on it, both of the couple just laid off and them having just purchased land elsewhere went down to what they owed and walked away, leaving me with the win.

[Luckywon]

What will you do if it sells?

Offer half market value for new homes until someone bites. You never know.

I bought my present house for under 60% of asking. The seller with 3 mortgages on it, both of the couple just laid off and them having just purchased land elsewhere went down to what they owed and walked away, leaving me with the win.

A win, unless the seller was using the OP's strategy. In which case you overpaid.

[wandering_aimlessly]

If this works it sounds like you are just redefining where the market is (or someone has vastly underestimated the market value). A house is worth exactly what one other person is willing to pay - you just have to find that person - if they exist. I have seen folks long term list on the "Make me move" function mentioned above and then receive offers at that point - in at least some cases other homes have come up to the price being asked so it really just sold at "market".

[rule of law guy]

The real estate market where I live is very hot and there is very little on the market.

I have no need and little desire to sell my home, but, as a lark, I was thinking of listing it for a price way higher than market value (50-100% above), and just leaving it on the market, without putting any effort into selling it. It would involve no effort on my part, and I wouldn't care if it didn't sell.

Has anybody here done this and gotten their asking price?

If so I'd like to hear about your experience.

this is SOP for owners in the Hamptons. they know they can rent properties for some nice coin in the summer if they want some liquidity (though every now and then, like this past summer, the rental market is slow because Wall Street lays an egg), so as owners they list very high. only a few owners who really need the money list realistically and lower the price to get the sale

[THY4373]

I mean I guess you don't have much to lose but unless the property is unique in someway (some of the aforementioned Hamptons properties probably fall into this category) I really doubt you will hit the jackpot. For everyday properties even nice ones I don't think you are likely to find somebody willing to pay 50-100% over market. But hey you miss all the shots you don't take.

[Luckywon]

If this works it sounds like you are just redefining where the market is (or someone has vastly underestimated the market value). A house is worth exactly what one other person is willing to pay - you just have to find that person - if they exist. I have seen folks long term list on the "Make me move" function mentioned above and then receive offers at that point - in at least some cases other homes have come up to the price being asked so it really just sold at "market".

In many things like home transactions, car purchases, self-assessment of driving ability (ever notice how almost every car accident you hear about is someone else's fault), and market timing, the average reported perceived success seems around the 98th percentile.

[ETK517]

Telling that the response to the question presented is thus far a resounding "no."

[nonnie]

Zillow allows a listing for this called - FSBO-make me move. You can list your price, pics and see if it attracts any attention.

I believe Zillow discontinued this in the first quarter.

[goingup]

I think it's a great idea.

Especially since the listing history remains with the property.

I’m guessing this is sarcasm. But you make a good point. The listing history remains and when the OP wants to sell in the future he’ll have some explaining to do to prospective listing agents.

I wouldn’t undertake something as a “lark”. Real estate is serious business.

[CascadiaSoonish]

From personal experience: if the market is favorable and it's a desirable property, maybe it will work out. It did for us. We thought the agents we talked to were undervaluing a property we were selling a few years back so we listed it ourselves with plenty of pictures and an asking price +/- 20% over what we were told to expect. Got lucky when two interested buyers were at our open house at the same time and realized they were prospective competitors. Received an asking price offer the next day and closed out the transaction with a real estate attorney. Total upside was mid five figures, which we spent immediately on the overpriced replacement house...

[SmileyFace]

If someone wanted your property that bad (to pay 50-100% over market) they would likely ring your doorbell or leave you a personal note even if your house was NOT on a market.
I know several home shoppers who have approached homes in desirable neighborhoods that are NOT on the market and have gotten a few requests-to-talk myself. If no one is proactively reaching out to you - your home is likely not going to sell for 50-100% above market.

[zie]

In the last few years, my sister owned a property for about 6 months and made 20% on the deal(after transaction costs). One might not consider that ridiculous, but she definitely beat the stock market!

She planned to move there, but life happened. Sometimes market timing through shear luck works!

[Tavistock1]

Only way to get the 50% over current asking is with a great agent. You would begin the process - and the great agent would likely have bites early on and get you an offer where your house never hits the market. This happened with us. As Is and over 50% over asking.

- in the last 3 years I’ve done this more than a few times. Your home, despite profile, has to show perfectly, be presented perfectly. I do think these past several years have been an anomaly, but who knows.

[rebellovw]

Only way to get the 50% over current asking is with a great agent. You would begin the process - and the great agent would likely have bites early on and get you an offer where your house never hits the market. This happened with us. As Is and over 50% over asking.

- in the last 3 years I’ve done this more than a few times. Your home, despite profile, has to show perfectly, be presented perfectly. I do think these past several years have been an anomaly, but who knows.

Yeah in our case we were lucky - very desirable area - house needed major work (over 100K) - buyers wanted the house as is so we didn't have to do any work on it. I was very surprised. My ideas were completely wrong - I wanted to use "my" realtor which was #1 in town but my brother didn't like her fee (6%) so I let him run the show with his 'out of town' realtor - and boy was I wrong. I learned quite a bit.

[protagonist]

Good luck getting an agent that wants to bother. Market value already represents the hot market.

An agent just needs to put it on the MLS.
They could then ignore it and just collect a windfall if it sells.

[EddyB]

Sort of.

We sold a house into the froth of 2021. One experienced agent looked at it and told us we could list it for 215% of what we’d paid for it 9 years earlier. At first we thought that sounded great, but looked more closely at some comps and thought our place was much better than anything at that price, so we thought we’d talk to another agent. She suggested we list it for 315% of our purchase price. The first agent thought the second agent was insane, but we did it, and we sold it for 336% of our purchase price.

[protagonist]

OP here.

The house is not in the Hamptons...more MCOL. But for several reasons real estate here goes very quickly, especially within walking distance to the center of town where most of the homes are over 100 years old and there is no room to build. Lately we have gotten lots of retirees from NYC and Boston moving here. A 19th century Victorian with 3-4 bedrooms and a nice yard can still be purchased for less than a 1 br condo in a nice NYC neighborhood.

So my thought is that I might hit the jackpot if somebody sells their NYC condo, has money to burn, and wants to retire within walking distance of town.

I would price it high enough that I would not really expect to get a buyer. The big question is what I would do if somebody actually met my asking price!

[protagonist]

What will you do if it sells?

Good question. I'm not sure...I wouldn't really expect it would sell.
I would probably move into my condo in Florida.
I might eventually look for a smaller place to spend summers (rent or buy) either in the same area or possibly near where my daughter lives.

[adamthesmythe]

If OP manages to find a realtor who will list his house- it will be beneficial for the other sellers.

His overpriced house will make any well-priced house look like a smokin' deal. Leading to multiple offers and a bidding war above list. The other sellers will benefit and he will be left cleaning up the dirty footmarks.

[protagonist]

If OP manages to find a realtor who will list his house- it will be beneficial for the other sellers.

His overpriced house will make any well-priced house look like a smokin' deal. Leading to multiple offers and a bidding war above list. The other sellers will benefit and he will be left cleaning up the dirty footmarks.

Something like this may have just happened in my neighborhood which is what gave me the idea.
A neighbor's home was listed for $775K, which seemed on the high end to me. It sold for $908K.

[tonyclifton]

Bank likely won’t write a loan for any amount above the appraisal. Buyers seem to do the reverse of what the OP is proposing - offer a very high price contingent on appraisal which doesn’t materialize.

[michaeljc70]

Good luck getting an agent that wants to bother. Market value already represents the hot market.

An agent just needs to put it on the MLS.
They could then ignore it and just collect a windfall if it sells.

A good agent has professional photos taken. A good agent pays for a professional floor plan to be drawn up. A good agent will craft a good description/brochure for the property. You think a brokerage doesn't have overhead like an office, MLS fees, etc? None of that is free. You can probably get an agent that has nothing better to do that will slap it into the MLS. Some agents will take a listing they know will never sell at a certain price with the hope that the price will come down and it will sell eventually. That is usually within 20% of market value though....

[snackdog]

Zillow allows a listing for this called - FSBO-make me move. You can list your price, pics and see if it attracts any attention.

My neighbor did this. His house was a 1 bedroom pre-fab on a tiny sloping lot. He paid about $450k for it five years ago. He put it on Zillow make me move for $1 million and we all howled with laughter. It sold in a week for $990,000. We shut up.

[ScubaHogg]

My neighbor basically did this and sold it. Now my other neighbor is trying to top that.

AFAIK it wasn’t bought by criminals or other opportunists, whatever in the world that means

[fsrph]

List your property for the very high price. I think it's a great idea. What do you have to lose? You don't have to generate a lot of interest. All you need is one buyer.

Francis

[runswithscissors]

If OP manages to find a realtor who will list his house- it will be beneficial for the other sellers.

His overpriced house will make any well-priced house look like a smokin' deal. Leading to multiple offers and a bidding war above list. The other sellers will benefit and he will be left cleaning up the dirty footmarks.

Something like this may have just happened in my neighborhood which is what gave me the idea.
A neighbor's home was listed for $775K, which seemed on the high end to me. It sold for $908K.

17% over market is a far cry from "50-100%". If that's what you're expecting and willing to accept you may just find a willing realtor and buyer.

[protagonist]

Zillow allows a listing for this called - FSBO-make me move. You can list your price, pics and see if it attracts any attention.

My neighbor did this. His house was a 1 bedroom pre-fab on a tiny sloping lot. He paid about $450k for it five years ago. He put it on Zillow make me move for $1 million and we all howled with laughter. It sold in a week for $990,000. We shut up.

Zillow Make Me Move has been suspended.

[Tavistock1]

Only way to get the 50% over current asking is with a great agent. You would begin the process - and the great agent would likely have bites early on and get you an offer where your house never hits the market. This happened with us. As Is and over 50% over asking.

- in the last 3 years I’ve done this more than a few times. Your home, despite profile, has to show perfectly, be presented perfectly. I do think these past several years have been an anomaly, but who knows.

Yeah in our case we were lucky - very desirable area - house needed major work (over 100K) - buyers wanted the house as is so we didn't have to do any work on it. I was very surprised. My ideas were completely wrong - I wanted to use "my" realtor which was #1 in town but my brother didn't like her fee (6%) so I let him run the show with his 'out of town' realtor - and boy was I wrong. I learned quite a bit.

Somewhat humorous, but on a few occasions sitting with sellers to determine price- long time clients who have a keen understanding of real estate- I argued for a far higher list price than the sellers imagined- some discussions got almost heated - fortunately , those sellers finally agreed- and the “throwing of the dart” list price won- and then got bid up even further with no inspections and buyers paying any difference should the property not appraise. Nice for sellers but creating spreadsheets to determine the winning offer ( price, terms, quality of financing ) then having to call up to 20 agents, perhaps 5 of whom submitted very strong well crafted offers, that they lost- not pleasant. On the flip side, with a strong corporate background in negotiation, and used to fighting sellers for every $, every concession- a buyer agent was left with “how can I present my buyers offer such that it will win against the other 15 offers??” And it wasn’t always about price ( eg found what was a great home - an estate- where family had not touched what was a hoarders home- and the hadn’t a clue about clean out- we offered what was not the highest price (by far) but “take anything you want from the house and buyer will take care of the rest” we win- 2 large dumpsters later, with some local labor, and buyer got what was a great home.

[Luckywon]

Doubt you will find an agent to do this. You could list yourself. Then you may have to deal with showing the house potentially to criminals or other opportunists.

My neighbor basically did this and sold it. Now my other neighbor is trying to top that.

AFAIK it wasn’t bought by criminals or other opportunists, whatever in the world that means

Self listing would mean:

-Exposing yourself to burglars or worse because pictures (presumably including interior unless you think just the exterior is magic enough to get that 2x offer) would be online and it's easier for anyone to call an owner to see the home than go through an agent.

-You will have to deal with solicitations from agents asking to list or show your home.

-You may get inquiries from speculators looking for homes they can flip which will likely be a waste of your time.

With respect to these risks, I would take no comfort in what happened with your neighbor but of course make your own conclusions.

[ScubaHogg]

Self listing would mean:

-Exposing yourself to burglars or worse because pictures (presumably including interior unless you think just the exterior is magic enough to get that 2x offer) would be online and it's easier for anyone to call an owner to see the home than go through an agent.

This is probably some baseless paranoia, but even assuming it’s not, do you think criminals see the pictures your agent posts and think “well, I can’t rob that house, it’s listed by Coldwell Banker”?

-You will have to deal with solicitations from agents asking to list or show your home.

-You may get inquiries from speculators looking for homes they can flip which will likely be a waste of your time.

With respect to these risks, I would take no comfort in what happened with your neighbor but of course make your own conclusions.

Probably small prices to pay to save tens of thousands of dollars. It’s an amazing ROI on your time. Unless you are Taylor Swift, that’s almost certainly a ton more $/hour than anything else you do

[Tavistock1]

Self listing would mean:

-Exposing yourself to burglars or worse because pictures (presumably including interior unless you think just the exterior is magic enough to get that 2x offer) would be online and it's easier for anyone to call an owner to see the home than go through an agent.

This is probably some baseless paranoia, but even assuming it’s not, do you think criminals see the pictures your agent posts and think “well, I can’t rob that house, it’s listed by Coldwell Banker”?

-You will have to deal with solicitations from agents asking to list or show your home.

-You may get inquiries from speculators looking for homes they can flip which will likely be a waste of your time.

With respect to these risks, I would take no comfort in what happened with your neighbor but of course make your own conclusions.

Probably small prices to pay to save tens of thousands of dollars. It’s an amazing ROI on your time. Unless you are Taylor Swift, that’s almost certainly a ton more $/hour than anything else you do

Unlike a financial advisor ( ie per bogleheads “salesman”, real estate transactions are a one off game. Yes, commissions aren’t cheap, but innumerable studies show that sellers who list with an agent ( granted, given easy entry to the field difficult to find a competent agent) by and large, net more $ with less hassle. I’ve dealt with a number of corporate relo families, some who’ve been transferred over 10 times in their careers- none of these folks would do it without a Realtor. Period.

I get what appears to be , on this forum, a distaste for engaging the service of a Realtor. As a decades long realtor, when I’m planted in the earth, and my wife wants to sell our home, she’ll engage a good realtor. Period

[ScubaHogg]

Self listing would mean:

-Exposing yourself to burglars or worse because pictures (presumably including interior unless you think just the exterior is magic enough to get that 2x offer) would be online and it's easier for anyone to call an owner to see the home than go through an agent.

This is probably some baseless paranoia, but even assuming it’s not, do you think criminals see the pictures your agent posts and think “well, I can’t rob that house, it’s listed by Coldwell Banker”?

-You will have to deal with solicitations from agents asking to list or show your home.

-You may get inquiries from speculators looking for homes they can flip which will likely be a waste of your time.

With respect to these risks, I would take no comfort in what happened with your neighbor but of course make your own conclusions.

Probably small prices to pay to save tens of thousands of dollars. It’s an amazing ROI on your time. Unless you are Taylor Swift, that’s almost certainly a ton more $/hour than anything else you do

Unlike a financial advisor ( ie per bogleheads “salesman”, real estate transactions are a one off game. Yes, commissions aren’t cheap, but innumerable studies show that sellers who list with an agent ( granted, given easy entry to the field difficult to find a competent agent) by and large, net more $ with less hassle. I’ve dealt with a number of corporate relo families, some who’ve been transferred over 10 times in their careers- none of these folks would do it without a Realtor. Period.

I get what appears to be , on this forum, a distaste for engaging the service of a Realtor. As a decades long realtor, when I’m planted in the earth, and my wife wants to sell our home, she’ll engage a good realtor. Period

I mean, it’s fine if someone wants to use them. I’ve used them before and likely will again at some point. And I see a difference between and buying realtor and a selling one.

But the things I push back against are and will always be

A) the realtor is your “agent.” They aren’t. They are salesmen and saleswomen with particular incentives. Their inventive is volume. Don’t ever think they are going to get you the best price. Anymore than you would a car salesman. They can be helpful, but they aren’t looking out for your best interest.

B) just made up stuff like the poster above, who seems to think my Spec Ops Realtor is fighting off gangs of people trying to rob me. It’s a scare tactic, nothing more

[pizzy]

A) the realtor is your “agent.” They aren’t. They are salesmen and saleswomen with particular incentives. Their inventive is volume. Don’t ever think they are going to get you the best price. Anymore than you would a car salesman. They can be helpful, but they aren’t looking out for your best interest.

What service businesses wouldn’t you say this about? Who is putting your interests in front of theirs?

[Luckywon]

Self listing would mean:

-Exposing yourself to burglars or worse because pictures (presumably including interior unless you think just the exterior is magic enough to get that 2x offer) would be online and it's easier for anyone to call an owner to see the home than go through an agent.

This is probably some baseless paranoia, but even assuming it’s not, do you think criminals see the pictures your agent posts and think “well, I can’t rob that house, it’s listed by Coldwell Banker”?

-You will have to deal with solicitations from agents asking to list or show your home.

-You may get inquiries from speculators looking for homes they can flip which will likely be a waste of your time.

With respect to these risks, I would take no comfort in what happened with your neighbor but of course make your own conclusions.

Probably small prices to pay to save tens of thousands of dollars. It’s an amazing ROI on your time. Unless you are Taylor Swift, that’s almost certainly a ton more $/hour than anything else you do

I don't follow your logic at any point in this thread so I'll just reiterate my points which are getting obfuscated, i.e. that listing a property for a ridiculously high price would probably be difficult to do with an agent, and listing it yourself involves risks and hassle. The relevance of your neighbor's experience, and whatever point you are making about Coldwell banker are totally lost on me. If you feel the need to enlighten me further, I'll do my best to understand but will let you have the last word.

[ScubaHogg]

A) the realtor is your “agent.” They aren’t. They are salesmen and saleswomen with particular incentives. Their inventive is volume. Don’t ever think they are going to get you the best price. Anymore than you would a car salesman. They can be helpful, but they aren’t looking out for your best interest.

What service businesses wouldn’t you say this about? Who is putting your interests in front of theirs?

There is a world of difference between engaging with a salesperson and the legal and ethical obligations certain professions have towards their clients (doctors, lawyers are good examples)

And when a salesperson tries to present themselves as something other than a salesperson…well generously I’ll say the optics aren’t great

[pizzy]

A) the realtor is your “agent.” They aren’t. They are salesmen and saleswomen with particular incentives. Their inventive is volume. Don’t ever think they are going to get you the best price. Anymore than you would a car salesman. They can be helpful, but they aren’t looking out for your best interest.

What service businesses wouldn’t you say this about? Who is putting your interests in front of theirs?

There is a world of difference between engaging with a salesperson and the legal and ethical obligations certain professions have towards their clients (doctors, lawyers are good examples)

And when a salesperson tries to present themselves as something other than a salesperson…well generously I’ll say the optics aren’t great

Doctors and lawyers also put their interests first. Please don’t think otherwise.

[ScubaHogg]

I don't follow your logic at any point in this thread so I'll just reiterate my points which are getting obfuscated, i.e. that listing a property for a ridiculously high price would probably be difficult to do with an agent, and listing it yourself involves risks and hassle. The relevance of your neighbor's experience, and whatever point you are making about Coldwell banker are totally lost on me. If you feel the need to enlighten me further, I'll do my best to understand but will let you have the last word.

There are so many agents it would be trivially easy to find one who would list your property for whatever you want. The downside to them is almost zero.

[michaeljc70]

Self listing would mean:

-Exposing yourself to burglars or worse because pictures (presumably including interior unless you think just the exterior is magic enough to get that 2x offer) would be online and it's easier for anyone to call an owner to see the home than go through an agent.

This is probably some baseless paranoia, but even assuming it’s not, do you think criminals see the pictures your agent posts and think “well, I can’t rob that house, it’s listed by Coldwell Banker”?

-You will have to deal with solicitations from agents asking to list or show your home.

-You may get inquiries from speculators looking for homes they can flip which will likely be a waste of your time.

With respect to these risks, I would take no comfort in what happened with your neighbor but of course make your own conclusions.

Probably small prices to pay to save tens of thousands of dollars. It’s an amazing ROI on your time. Unless you are Taylor Swift, that’s almost certainly a ton more $/hour than anything else you do

Unlike a financial advisor ( ie per bogleheads “salesman”, real estate transactions are a one off game. Yes, commissions aren’t cheap, but innumerable studies show that sellers who list with an agent ( granted, given easy entry to the field difficult to find a competent agent) by and large, net more $ with less hassle. I’ve dealt with a number of corporate relo families, some who’ve been transferred over 10 times in their careers- none of these folks would do it without a Realtor. Period.

I get what appears to be , on this forum, a distaste for engaging the service of a Realtor. As a decades long realtor, when I’m planted in the earth, and my wife wants to sell our home, she’ll engage a good realtor. Period

I just sold my home and it was gone in 3 days for asking price. I would have been pissed if I paid someone 2.5% for that amount of work. Obviously, there are a lot of factors to consider. Some people are clueless and need someone to hold their hand or just don't have the time or desire. Things vary by location and timing (good market/slow market). Things vary by house (desirable neighborhood/desirable house vs opposite). This was the 4th time I sold a home so I am not new to it. I also have had close friends over the years that have told me countless stories and given me actionable advice. I am retired and have the time (though if it sells in a few days not much time is required.) For the other homes I had a flexible enough work schedule to accommodate showings.

Even if you feel the need for a realtor to sell your home, I don't like the commission structure. An agent with 30 years experience get the same % as one that has 1 year experience (or at least their broker does). In what other industry does that work like that? It is also not based on the effort required. Some homes may be more $$$ but easier to sell than a less expensive home resulting in a higher commission for less work.

BTW...I did offer 2.5% to a buyer's agent that brought a buyer (which they did in all 4 cases).