There is almost always a bit of disparity between what Sellers list a house for and the actual price the house finally sells for. Though, there will always be a few lucky sellers who get their full asking price. This isn't really just luck but a result of good pricing, the homes appeal and a willing and able buyer who recognizes a good value when they see it.
This chart shows an average of how close listing prices were to the actual selling price in all categories of properties sold through the Laramie MLS from January 2010- October of 2012. It shows nothing about the home values themselves - just how close listing and selling prices were to each other.
So what do the numbers mean?
For one it shows that listing prices have generally been within 96% of the value the properties finally sold for. It shows a larger discrepancy in April of 2012, but with only 24 home sales that month it is likely a large difference on just a few sales brought this number disproportionately down.
Buyers see statistics like this and come to us saying, "I will be offering 10% less than the listed price on any property because that's what sales statistics indicate is the "going" rate."
However, when it comes to each individual property there is no going rate. Statistics and charts like this do not show how many homes did receive full price, the condition and location of the homes, how many days the homes sat on the market, whether the home was overpriced to begin with and so on and so forth.
In general, statistics like this have very little value in determining what a buyer should ask for a home. It is an interesting guage of a market's history and whether on not there is historically a disconnect between listing prices and actual sales prices. But honestly, when it comes to making an offer on an individual property, it has very little value.
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