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SALT LAKE CITY -- It's a method that may seem strange, but realtors selling high-end lhomes are seeing success with one way to drive up the home's price.
Let's say the multi-million dollar home you're trying to unload isn't selling. According to the Wall Street Journal, one trick that seems to be working is taking the home off the market, and then relisting it at a much higher price.
Mortgage consultant Al Bingham said, "You generally see this type of situation on both coasts. It's quite a bit more prevalent in those types of areas."
Bingham says the housing market is improving, and that may be one reason why these high-end, luxury homes are selling at higher prices. But he says there are also some high pressure sales tactics being used to sell them, and those tactics are also being used in Utah.
Listings over $1 million that raised prices 12 months prior or 2 years prior
| City | Prior 12 months | 2 years prior |
|---|---|---|
| New York | 436 | 266 |
"Even though they might not have a chance of selling that property, they're still going to entice that buyer to go in there (by saying), ‘You'd better move or make an offer, otherwise, you're going to be out.'"
Even if the market is getting better, Bingham says it's not moving fast enough to where homes are being snatched out from under people who wait a few days to consider what's being offered.
"Don't get suckered into this," Bingham warned. "It's always good to walk away. Don't ever listen to a sales agent say, ‘This is the last one there.'"
He has also seen ways in which home builders may be gaming the system. Bingham says some builders have used one of their own employees to buy a home near the one they're trying to sell at an inflated price. That could, in turn, inflate the price of the house they're selling.
It's always good to walk away. Don't ever listen to a sales agent say, 'This is the last one there.'
–Al Bingham
"It's not a bad idea to go out and find an independent appraiser and ask them to appraise the house. Don't tell him what the sales price is. Just tell him to go and appraise the house," Bingham said.
This may be hard to do. Some builders won't let an appraiser they don't know check the home's value. But, Bingham says the buyer can show the appraiser the plans, and the appraiser may be able to evaluate it that way.
