Don't let your agent buy your listing!

It is a common practice in Real Estate.  People talk to a few agents to decide what they should list their house for and inevitably, someone comes in high.  Why is that?  We all have the same information?  Is there something wrong with the others?  Are they lazy and just want to sell the home quickly?  The answer, none of the above.  Listings are important to any agent, especially now with little inventory in the system for traditional sales.  As a result, many agents decide they can buy your listing simply by coming in and "fooling" you into believing your home is worth more than it is.  Don't go down this path!  This is trouble.  The longer your home is on the market, the more people think something is wrong. The window of opportunity to show and sell is short.  Keeping your home on the market and reducing your price will hurt you.  As an agent, I am looking for opportunities for my sellers and my buyers.  This means we know the prices that homes will sell for.  We also know when you have a bad agent who you signed up just because he or she played on the heart strings of your largest investment, your beloved house!