OK, I've been asked yet again about the practice of withdrawing a listing and then relisting so that it shows on the MLS as a brand new listing with no price history. Unfortunately, this practice is entirely legal and is widespread, especially now that properties are lingering for much longer than in years past. It's legal, but, is it ethical? By my measure of ethical, no. The only reason for withdrawing and relisting a property is to mislead a prospective buyer. Like hidden agent bonuses, this is the sort of thing that undermines the public's perception of realtors. I did a quick search this morning of recent activity and found 2 nice examples.
Condo A - 255 days on market, original price $829,00 withdrawn and relisted same day by same agent for $759,000
Condo B - 105 days on market, original price $449,900 withdrawn and relisted same day by same agent for $409,999
A consumer or a lazy agent would never know that these weren't new listings. Shame on the National Association of Realtors for not taking a stance on this practice.
How was your Easter weekend? Mine was great. Fun waves and a pretty-much deserted beach. You've heard me talk about uncrowded beaches in south Cocoa Beach and here's the proof. While the area north of us was blanket to blanket, the photo at the top of this post is how our beach looked at midday Saturday, a beautiful beach day, the day before Easter.
And just beyond the water's edge, your's truly leans into a fun one.
I didn't have a thought about the market all day. Until next time, stay hydrated, use sunscreen and question everything.
