They looked at five years of real estate sales in Alachua County, Florida, comparing list prices and actual sales prices of homes. They found that sellers who listed their homes more precisely—say $494,500 as opposed to $500,000—consistently got closer to their asking price. Put another way, buyers were less likely to negotiate the price down as far when they encountered a precise asking price. What’s more, houses listed in round numbers lost more value if they sat on the market for a couple months. So, bottom line: One way to deal with a buyer’s market may be to pick an exact list price to begin with.
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