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November 5, 2018

Trending: Transparent Pricing

Home buyers tired of guessing how much they should overbid will welcome a new trend in the San Francisco market—“transparent” pricing.

Sellers with homes that have been sitting on the market or have fallen out of contract are simply adjusting the price of their home to one they will accept. The hope is that a transparent pricing strategy will appeal to buyers burned out on multiple-offer situations.

The Sunset is a growing hotbed of buy-it-now/transparent pricing. For example, 1667 32nd Avenue is a 3BR/3BA house that came on the market in mid September for $1,495,000. After going into contract in mid October, the home came back on the market for $1,795,000. Similarly, the 4BR/3BA house at 2563 35th Avenue was listed for $1,575,000 at the end of August, but the seller upped the list price to $1,795,000 in mid October. And then there’s 1838 39th Avenue, about which I received an email blast this week touting its $1,350,000 transparent pricing.

But the Sunset isn’t the only area where such pricing is happening. There’s the studio in Hayes Valley with a buy-it-now price of $620,000, the Inner Mission renovated Victorian being sold off market at a buy-it-now price of $2.5M and the 2BR condo at 900 Bush downtown being offered for $849,000.

And let’s not forget the 2BR Haight condo with leased parking, first listed for $1,195,000 and boosted to $1,395,000. I could go on.

Transparent pricing is more or less a product of a softening market. Buyers are pulling back from making big overbids, and disappointed sellers aren’t ready to throw in the towel with a price reduction. Prospective buyers considering a home with this type of list price should work with their agents on whether the seller’s price stacks up against the comps and makes sense. If it does, you may be able to get a decent deal on a home without dealing with bidding wars.

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