Update: After posting this a reader clarifies some facts in the comment section. This was not the case of one agent delisting and relisting a property. As they state: "The new listing you see reflects its status as an REO ("Real Estate Owned" = bank owned property) with an entirely different agent." and "Your contention that an agent could remove a property for two days and put it back on the market as a ploy is also incorrect. The rules for the MLS require a 30 day period off the market before a listing will refresh." Read their full comment here.
Original Post:
Let's revisit a quote from The Wall Street Journal I referenced last month:
Time and again, we saw agents trying to avoid slashing prices. Thanks to Redfin's Web site, we could see when listing agents pulled units off the market and relisted them two days later at the same price, trying to make it look like a new listing.
On Feb 6th a "new" listing showed up on the MLS. To unassuming buyers, 724 Revel Rd might have looked like it was just listed at $945,000 (it sold for $519,000 in 2005).
But then we head over to Redfin and see that the house was initially listed in 2006 and has been on the market for over two and half years. Even more amazing is that it has been listed, relisted, and had its price changed a total of 67 TIMES!
The chart below tells the story. Click to enlarge. Note that Redfin is not allowed to post the prices of past MLS listings so we'll have to use our imagination.
Please get your facts straight prior to posting. This listing does not prove the quote you've provided from the Wall Street Journal. When sold in 2005, the house on this parcel was a disaster and the sewer line had been impacted in a storm, rendering the property uninhabitable. The $519,000 purchaser tore down the old house, repaired the sewer line and built the new house from the ground up on spec. His first agent couldn't sell it for the price the builder wanted. It went to a different agent who also couldn't sell it, but whose tactic was to lower the price a little every day, trying to get it sold. The builder eventually lost it in foreclosure. The new listing you see reflects its status as an REO ("Real Estate Owned" = bank owned property) with an entirely different agent.
ReplyDeleteYour contention that an agent could remove a property for two days and put it back on the market as a ploy is also incorrect. The rules for the MLS require a 30 day period off the market before a listing will refresh.
A little bit of knowledge can be dangerous. Your "imagination" is even more so.
I admit I knew nothing about the history and was insinuating too much. I'll change the title and highlight your comment.
ReplyDeleteBut here is a question: why pull it off and relist so many times? It's been relisted 4 times since August 2008? or did the new agent just get this property?
Thank you for your response to my comment and the change in the title of the blog post.
ReplyDelete(1) The first agent listed the property during construction.
(2) The same agent listed it for a about six months after completion. That listing agreement expired.
(3) The builder then chose a different agent to list it for him. It did not sell and the builder lost it in foreclosure.
(4) Post foreclosure, the bank - as the current owner - listed with its own choice of agent.
Hopefully that explains the 3 different agents and 4 listing periods.
Yes, I am a real estate agent. No, I have not been involved in this property in any way.
It is easy to forget that these properties each have a human face. That face often reflects hard work and sacrifice to make a living and have a home for one's family. As you blog, please remember that there are real people involved and you may not understand the full story behind their loss.
I understand there are people behind these properties. But there are also people who would put serious strains on their finances for years to come by buying the home above.
ReplyDeleteAnd part reason people are buying overpriced homes is the lack of information, thanks to the MLS monopoly.
Don't you think it is strange that real estate companies like Redfin are prohibited from posting prices of inactive listings? This is unfair to potential buyers as it denies them valuable information on what is likely to be the largest purchase of their lives. Imagine the outrage if my broker down at Edward Jones was not allowed to post past stock prices online? What would that tell me about the stock he was peddling?
I'll post a video that goes into greater detail on the subject from 60 Minutes.
@ Anonymous (by the way a screen name would help us know if you are the same anonymous as in other posts or not)
ReplyDelete"It is easy to forget that these properties each have a human face. That face often reflects hard work and sacrifice to make a living and have a home for one's family. As you blog, please remember that there are real people involved and you may not understand the full story behind their loss."
Very well put. However, I would like to respectfully point out that on the flip side of the coin, there were many people who were priced out of the market due to no fault of their own. Many of us had good jobs, good credit but made the tough decision not to buy when prices were sky high and put our "American dream" on hold. We had to put up with smug "owners" of properties telling how stupid we were for waiting. Real estate prices never go down you see, and they were "making" 50-100K a year in Equity. Now that the shoe is on the other foot, sure we may sound a little smug or even a little callous, but considering that we are probably going to have to bail these "owners" out, I think it is justifiable.