Why would a seller do this? (sales, prices, offer, approved)

[brava4]

I have been looking online at homes, for a while, in an area I want to retire to. It is a small town so I am familiar with a handful of homes that haven't sold and have been on the market for months. I have recently noticed several of these homes that haven't sold have increased the price without anything new being done to them. Is it just me or is this an odd thing to do if you haven't sold it in the 8-16 months it remained on the market? And now with interest rates going up it seems even more odd to increase the price.


I'm not a real estate savvy person so thought I would ask here, thanks.

[Diana Holbrook]

Yes.... it is an odd thing to do!

[JonahWicky]

Sometimes it puts the house into a new search range. A house near me was listed at $240k for months. They raised the price to $265k and it sold a couple of weeks later.

[Westcoasters]

It's not an odd thing at all. One of the reasons it is done is to get the house seen by more online users. For example, suppose a seller initially prices a house at $295k. This house will not show up in the search results of a buyer searching for houses in the $300-$400k range, because $295k is less than the $300k minimum price that the buyer enters into a search engine. So, the seller increases the price to $300k and now the house shows up in the search results of the buyer using a $300k-$400k range. This also means that the house will no longer show up in the search results of another buyer who uses a maximum prices of $299k, so that's a trade off.

[CGab]

Could also be that the market has increased in the area and they are in no rush to sell. Might as well increase the home price to match the market as to not taking less than what they could have received when a buyer finally does come to buy.

[brava4]

Hadn't thought about the different price range (actually, none of them went into another one) but I understand the concept.


Thanks for the replies.

[spencgr]

Originally Posted by Westcoasters

It's not an odd thing at all. One of the reasons it is done is to get the house seen by more online users. For example, suppose a seller initially prices a house at $295k. This house will not show up in the search results of a buyer searching for houses in the $300-$400k range, because $295k is less than the $300k minimum price that the buyer enters into a search engine. So, the seller increases the price to $300k and now the house shows up in the search results of the buyer using a $300k-$400k range. This also means that the house will no longer show up in the search results of another buyer who uses a maximum prices of $299k, so that's a trade off.

While I hear you, and certainly understand and agree with your point....what kind of idiot would set a minimum price in a search so close to what they want to spend? Maximum price? Yes. Minimum price? Why?

If I'm thinking of buying a house in the $300-$400 range, you'd better be certain I'm looking at houses in the 200s.

[marino760]

IMO this is done to give the home seller more flexibility when you make an offer on the home especially a low offer. Raising the price some may result in a higher offer which may be more negotiable. That's how I see it but I'm not a professional.

[GiantRutgersfan]

Originally Posted by brava4

Hadn't thought about the different price range (actually, none of them went into another one) but I understand the concept.


Thanks for the replies.

I don’t know that it makes sense in a small town. I think it’s unusual. I would guess hey are not interested in selling the house and maybe are just giving a last ditch effort. I know just changing the price on a listing can get it to show up on top of some of the online listings again

[Daze55]

Could they possibly be short sales? I've found that many short sales in my area will initially set an aggressively low price to stir interest, and then raise the price to a new "lender approved" price a few weeks/months later.