Perhaps you don’t want a home that is too close to the freeway, or a home with only one bathroom.

Whatever it may be, it’s clearly a negative. And if you have a problem with it, chances are a subsequent buyer will too.

How Bad Is It?

It’s usually easy to tell if something turns you off immediately, or only slightly bugs you.

For example, if there’s a fortuneteller living next door, displaying prominent advertising of said services, you may say, “there’s no way I’ll live here.”

But then the real estate agent tells you that the house is 30% cheaper than the homes around it, and you start to think, “Hey, it could be worse.”

You decide to take the plunge and buy the house, only to stare at your neighbor’s home on a daily basis, all with a bitter taste of buyer’s remorse.

Still, you think you got a bargain, and realize it could be worse.

While that’s all good and well, keep in mind that what goes around comes around.

It’s Time to Sell

Remember when you were the discerning buyer a few years ago? Well, guess what, now you’ve got to put your best foot forward and sell your home.

That fortuneteller is still living next-door, and still very prominently offering to look in a crystal ball for anyone passing by.

And remember when you were put off by it, but after hearing about a steep discount, felt it was okay.

Well what do you think you’re potential buyer will think? They may be equally unhappy about it.

As a result, they too will want a discount, so you could wind up saving nothing in the long run, despite of the “amazing deal” you got.

Can It Be Remedied?

Here’s the distinction. Can the eyesore or issue be remedied or is it something that’s out of your control?

[Functional and economic obsolescence.]

If it’s the former, then it could be a really great move to snag the price reduction, make the necessary fixes, and then sit back and realize the home price appreciation.

An example could be a broken bathroom, or an overgrown tree. If it’s something you can tackle with relative ease, then you’ll have a much better house, and a more valuable one waiting for a buyer in the future.

Keep that in mind when shopping for real estate and creating your list of deal breakers.

Read more: The best and worst home improvements.

Sure, you can underbid for a home, but if you offer something too low, it will come off as offensive to the home seller and their listing agent.

While this theory may be ridiculous in itself, considering home buying and selling shouldn’t be about emotions, let’s look at it the other way around.

I already wrote at length about stale listings and price reductions, and essentially how houses that aren’t priced to sell will languish on the market.

This tends to lead to a price reduction (or two), which is fine, but here’s where I have a bone to pick.

And it’s not emotional, even though it may sound like it.

Don’t Drop Your List Price By a Trivial Amount

When prospective homebuyers make so-called “low-ball offers,” they typically have a reason for offering the number.

It may be that they researched comparable sales in the area, and felt their offer was more in line with what homes were actually selling for.

And sure, the offer may be even lower than those sale prices, to allow room to negotiate, but at least there’s a reason behind the numbers. They make sense.

But for a home seller to execute a seemingly mindless price reduction just for the sake of reducing the price is irritating.

What’s the point of lowering your list price by one or two percent after not seeing it move for months?

Do you really think your home will attract new interest because it’s 1.5% lower than it was yesterday?

Does It Enter a New Pricing Threshold?

The only time I’d say a price reduction of this nature would make sense is if the new price fell into a lower pricing threshold.

So if the home was listed at $560,000, and dropped to $550,000, that may make sense because a new set of eyeballs may come across it.

Why? Because they may have filtered their real estate search to include homes listed at $550,000 and lower.

But if you’re lowering a list price from $590,000 to $585,000, it’s doubtful that anyone will take notice, let alone give a you know what.

Long story short, if you’re going to execute a price reduction, think it through, and make it meaningful to the buyer.

Otherwise you’re just wasting your time and making your listing look bad, all for no reason.

Put simply, be sure to actually accomplish something seeing that there is a stigma with a price drop.

Read more: Setting the right listing price.

Yes, an entire generation. Or longer…

He told the news service that there’s a chance we won’t a “major turnaround in our lifetimes,” though he was speaking in the first person to other old people presumably.

So ideally us young bucks (and our children) will see a housing turnaround or two before we croak or get cryogenically frozen.

Why Shiller is Pessimistic

But why is Shiller so down on the housing market?

Well, he pointed to ongoing issues, such as high unemployment, steep gas prices, and general uncertainty from American consumers, who still seem rattled from the financial collapse that took place several years ago.

These issues continue to offset the record mortgage rates designed to increase confidence in the housing market, buoy flagging homes prices, and improve affordability.

Interestingly, his dark prediction comes at a time when home prices are on the rise, albeit marginally.

The S&P/Case-Shiller home price index of 20 metropolitan cities climbed 0.2 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis in February, the first increase in homes prices in 10 months.

But if you break it down by city, you’d notice that nine of the 20 cities in the index were actually down or flat for the month.

Real Estate is Local!

In other words, real estate is, and will always be, local. While these indices are great (grain of salt) to gauge the overall health of the economy, they won’t do much to tell you when it’s the right time to buy real estate in your neck of the woods.

They also won’t be able to help you determine if home prices in your area will rise or fall, or if they’ve bottomed.

That’s because real estate is local, and even micro-local.

Ever notice that a house on one side of a street is much more valuable than the same type of house on the other side of the block?

Perhaps one part of a city is experiencing a boon, while another is dying off quickly for one reason or another.

There are so many seemingly minute details that a single report just can’t address.

[Don't buy the most expensive house on the block.]

Are Walking Cities Our Future?

That said, Shiller believes suburban areas may actually continue to see falling home values as the price of gas increases.

In other words, there may be fewer individuals willing to drive an hour and a half into town on their daily commute if the cost is skyrocketing.

These types of people may conclude that it makes more sense to rent in the city in which they work, or pay more to buy for the convenience.

[Buy a house or a condo?]

Either way, you can see why being close to things can make a difference. Of course, things like good schools, lot size, and crime issues will still make suburban living a plus for many.

This again fortifies the principle that real estate is very, very local and specific to the buyer at hand.

Finally, don’t fret because of these doom and gloom predictions. They’ve been around forever, and will continue to surface. But guess what? Life goes on…

Read more: Is now a good time to buy a house?

And if you haven’t, you should probably take note. Every little nugget you can take away from a property listing will help you better assess the situation, which could ultimately lead to you getting a better deal.

What is a Stale Listing?

First and foremost, let’s define a “stale listing,” which is essentially a real estate listing that has been on the market for a long time with no offers.

You know the one – where you remark, “that’s still on the market?”

And it always seems to frustratingly show up in your search over and over, at which point you need to look it at again and remind yourself why you weren’t initially interested.

There’s not necessarily a specific number of days a property has to be listed to be considered “stale,” but price reductions and stale listings tend to go hand-in-hand.

Price Reductions Common on Stale Listings

Once a property has been listed for a while, the seller will often initiate a price reduction to lure in more buyers.

It’s clear that the property isn’t selling for one reason or another at its current listing price, so the best way to attract more interest is through a price reduction.

A price reduction may also expose a certain listing to more eyeballs, especially if it crosses below a certain pricing threshold, such as from $500,000 to $450,000.

So it’s good in terms of getting more attention, but it’s also a negative because it displays weakness (and perhaps desperation) on behalf of the home seller.

And if you look at the chart from Redfin above, you’ll notice that the price reductions really start adding up after 45 days on the market.

If you’re a homebuyer, this is good news because you can negotiate. The opposite is true for home sellers.

This means a prospective buyer will expect a steeper discount, or assume they’ve got plenty of wiggle room to submit a low-ball offer.

With regard to home sellers, this is why real estate agents suggest that you price a home to sell, as opposed to listing it with your emotions (and pride).

[See: Listing a property high for more on that.]

Why is an Old Real Estate Listing New Now?

Finally, you may have seen an old listing reappear as a new listing. But how can this be?

Remember that stale listing that was on the market for 45 days with no bites. Now you’re receiving an alert about the very same listing, but it only says, “1 day on the market.”

What gives? Well, chances are the seller signed a new contract with a new real estate agent, and can put the home on the market as a new listing.

It can be frustrating, but it’s perfectly legal to do so. Just keep an eye out for such listings because they can obviously be deceiving, especially if the listing price hasn’t changed from one agent to the next.

Read more: Should I buy a house or a condo?

Often times they are used interchangeably, but they are really two different things.

Let’s start by defining “cul-de-sac,” which in French literally means “bottom of the bag.”

This expression can translate to “dead end” as well, since the bottom of the bag is also the end of the bag.

That said, a dead-end is a street with no outlet, meaning there’s only one way in and one way out.

The distinction with a cul-de-sac is that it has got a circular end, meaning you can turn your car around in one seamless action, instead of having to pull an Austin Powers 40-point turn to get out of there.

Bringing it all together, a cul-de-sac is a dead end street, but not all dead-end streets are cul-de-sacs.

Cul-de-Sac is a Real Estate Plus

If you have been shopping for a new house lately, you may have seen the phrase “cul-de-sac” used to highlight a home’s value.

But why? Well, as mentioned, a cul-de-sac is a circular dead-end street, so it’s not a through street.

At first glance, this may sound like a negative. You’re trapped. But wait. That also means everyone and their mother won’t use your street as a shortcut on their daily commute each morning.

It also means your street will be that much more quiet and peaceful. And your children will have a safer place to play, without having to constantly yell “car,” followed by, “game on!”

So this is essentially why a cul-de-sac can bring value to a home that lives on one.

Dead-End Streets Can Be a Dead End

Conversely, a dead-end street may hurt a home’s value. Why? Well, dead-end streets that aren’t cul-de-sacs abruptly end.

In other words, the end of the street usually has a wall blocking it off from other areas of the neighborhood.

Aside from this being visually unattractive, it also means there is a lot less surface area on the street. So if you get to the end of a dead-end street, it will be very difficult to turn around.

Parking at the end of the street will also be very tricky, not to mention limited.

So a pure dead-end street can be both an eyesore and a pain in the rear, which could equate to a lower house value.

It’s not the end of the world, but you may feel a little claustrophobic and cramped.

If you don’t believe me, drive down both a cul-de-sac and a dead-end, and you’ll see what I’m talking about.

Read more: Redfin vs. Zillow vs. Trulia: Which is Better?

It’s called the “Smart Move Advantage Lease Guarantee,” and basically guarantees rent on your existing home for up to three years if you buy a new Pardee home.

Here’s how the Smart Move Advantage Guaranteed Lease works:

Let’s assume you currently hold an underwater mortgage, meaning your mortgage exceeds the currently value of your property.

This would make it very difficult to sell your home, unless you conducted a short sale or brought money to the closing table.

To avoid this, you could buy a Pardee home and get guaranteed rent on your existing home for three years.

The first guaranteed rental payment should coincide with your first mortgage payment on your new home, to ease the cost burden.

During the three years, you would hope that your existing home appreciates in value, ideally to the point where you’re no longer underwater, and can sell for at least a small profit.

Even if Pardee Homes doesn’t find you a tenant, they still guarantee rent payments for up to three years.

So you won’t have to worry about securing a renter. Additionally, if the home is occupied, they’ll cover the cost of utilities.

And they’ll pay up to $1,000 each year for any damages caused by the tenant.

You can even list your home while it’s being rented, so long as the tenant has agreed to allow showings. But if you sell your home, you must set a closing date after the current lease is fulfilled.

After the three years are up, you can continue renting to a tenant, assuming there is one, or you can list your home for sale. Or you can do whatever else you want, as far as it appears.

Downsides to the Smart Move Advantage Guaranteed Lease

While this all sounds pretty cool, there are several negatives with this program.

First off, there will be property management fees, which are typically 10% of the rent each month.

Smart Move Advantage will cover the first year’s monthly management fees, but then you’re on your own.

Additionally, the guaranteed rent they get you may not be as good as what you could get on the open market.

So you could end up with a lot less rent money than you expected.

On top of that, getting a mortgage on the Pardee home may not be very easy.

You must factor in both your current mortgage payment and the mortgage payment on the Pardee home when qualifying (you cannot deduct the guaranteed lease payment).

In other words, the amount of house you can afford will be severely limited.

All in all, it’s not necessarily a bad program if you’re already interested in a Pardee home. But you certainly shouldn’t base your home purchase on this program alone.

You could easily call a property management company on your own and have them handle most of what Smart Move Advantage offers, minus the guarantee.

Or rent out your existing home on your own and keep more of the money.

The program is currently available in Colorado Springs, Denver, Las Vegas, Salt Lake City, Seattle and Southern California.

Tip: How much should I put down on a house?

While this is generally a good thing, largely because non-standard sales can be riddled with red tape and other issues, some properties aren’t as standard as they seem.

Let’s take a look at a couple of common examples to illustrate this phenomenon:

Scenario #1: Listed High

A particular property is listed for $600,000, which may be deemed high for the street it’s on.

It has 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms, and below-average square footage for the area.

It’s got great curb appeal and looks renovated to some degree inside, but there’s one issue.

The comparable sales in the area aren’t very close to the asking price. In fact, many of the nearby similar sales were in the low $400k range.

There are a few in the low $500k range as well, but they tend to be quite a bit larger.

Anyways, long story short here is that the homeowners may be listing high to avoid a short sale, no pun intended.

So this “standard sale” may not turn out to be so standard, assuming no one bites at the current level.

A property like this may be on the market for a long period of time with no price reductions…

Scenario #2: Bought Cheap and Flipped

Here’s another example of a “standard sale” currently on the market. This one has only been listed for a few days, and looks pretty flawless.

The little blurb about the property even starts with, “Standard Sale!” So we know that must be a pretty important detail, right?

Well, if you scroll down to the property history for the listing, you’ll notice that it was purchased all the way back on January 10, 2012 for $300,000.

Yeah, about three months ago folks…

And now it’s listed for $470,000. This property was probably in pretty bad shape when it sold the first time, which would explain the much higher price tag now that it’s in excellent rehabbed shape.

So, yes, it’s a standard sale, which is great, but it’s also selling for roughly $170,000 more than it was in January.

In reality, this listing should say “standard flip house sale,” because the flipper(s) is trying to make a quick, tidy profit.

There’s nothing inherently wrong with that, but it’s certainly worth pointing out things like this, especially with the market reality we’re dealing with.

This second example could also be expensive for its area now, which is a legitimate homebuyer concern.

Tip: Don’t buy the most expensive house on the block.

After a while, it can all get rather complicated, especially when different terminology is used.

So let’s break it down, once and for all, to determine what value each type of bathroom can bring to a home.

Let’s start at the top and work our way down. It’ll be easier to explain.

Full Bathroom (1 Bath)

A full bathroom contains four key items: a bathtub, a shower, a toilet, and a sink with running water.

So all four of these components must be in the room to designate it as a “full bathroom.”

Simple enough, right? It can’t really be disputed. All four or it’s not a full bathroom.

Three-Quarter Bathroom (3/4 Bath)

Then we have the “three-quarter bathroom,” which consists of three of the four aforementioned items.

So a three-quarter bathroom will typically have a stall shower (vertical upright), a toilet, and a sink.

Some older homes may have a tub instead of a shower, but this setup is probably a lot less likely.

Confused yet?

Half Bathroom (1/2 Bath)

If we remove both the shower and the tub, we end up with a “half bathroom.” This means there should be a room with a toilet and a sink (to wash your hands!).

Typically, half bathrooms are found on the ground floor of a house where there aren’t any bedrooms nearby.

It’s basically the guest bathroom, or the so-called “powder room.”

Again, things can get murky here if the room only contains a shower and a sink, or a toilet and a shower. But the norm is the toilet/sink combo.

Quarter Bathroom (1/4 Bath)

You can hardly call this is a bathroom, can you?

If anything, it’s really a tiny room with just a toilet in it. I guess you won’t be washing your hands after all…

However, a “quarter bathroom” may also be a room with just a shower in it. Again, these are rare.

Do the Bathroom Math

So bringing it all together, a house may be listed as 2.5 bath, 1.75 bath, or 1.5 bath, and so on.

If this is the case, we just need to break it down.

A 2.5 bath would mean two full bathrooms, and one half bathroom.

A 1.75 bath would mean one full bathroom, and one three-quarter bathroom.

A 1.5 bath would mean one full bathroom, and one half bathroom.

And a 2.25 bath would be a full bathroom, a three-quarter bathroom, and a half bathroom.

See how it gets complicated…

What Value Does a Bathroom Add to a House?

Okay, enough talking about the bathrooms. Let’s talk about the money involved. Or rather, the value they can provide.

While no two houses are the same, the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) conducted a pretty robust study on this back in 2006.

They noted that a half bathroom adds roughly 10.5% to a home’s value, while a full bathroom adds about 20%.

But they dug a bit deeper than that, breaking it down by bedroom-to-bathroom ratio.

For a home with an equal number of bedrooms and bathrooms, an additional half bathroom would increase the value by roughly 10%, and a full bath would add 19% more value.

And if the home has fewer bathrooms than bedrooms, the percentage gain can be even greater.

For example, consider a two-bedroom house with only one bathroom. If you add a half bathroom, it will increase the value by 11.5%.

Of course, the bathroom addition should make sense for the house layout to get maximum value.

And just to be clear, by “add,” it’s not to say building a bathroom addition yourself. You probably won’t get the value back. We’re simply comparing homes with different numbers and types of bathrooms.

In summary, be sure you recognize the value of a good bathroom folks!

(photo: Laurel Kate)

If you’re currently looking to buy a piece of property, perhaps to take advantage of the record low mortgage rates on offer, and also the reduced home prices, you may be torn between a house and a condo.

But which is the better buy and why? Well, it really depends on your unique situation and what your future plans are.

When buying property, which is a huge financial commitment, you must make a plan that looks many years into the future.

You can’t just think, “this house or that condo will be great for the next couple years, then I’ll sell it or rent it out.”

It doesn’t always work out as planned, so you need to consider the long term.

Condos Are Cheaper

Let’s start by looking at some of the advantages of buying a condo as opposed to a house.

The first huge advantage to buying a condo is that it’s cheaper than buying a house, all things being equal.

So if you have a certain price ceiling or max loan amount you qualify for, houses in the area where you want to buy may be out of your range.

If that’s the case, you’ll probably have to look at condos instead. Or expand your target market to less desirable areas.

Assuming you don’t want to consider houses in the outskirts, or the suburbs, or wherever they happen to be cheap (by the freeway), you’ll probably have to search for a condo.

This is especially true if you want to live in an urban area, such as a city center that is walking distance to shops, restaurants, bars, and so forth.

Condos Are Easier to Maintain

Aside from condos being cheaper than homes, they’re also a lot cheaper and easier to maintain.

After all, your living space will be limited to a small interior unit, not a sprawling property.

So all you’ll need to worry about is your appliances, plumbing, and whatever else you happen to have in your condo. This will make security a lot easier as well.

If you buy a house, you’ll need to worry about the structure itself, the roof, the exterior of the home, the landscaping, and much, much more.

With all those extra responsibilities will come more money and more headaches, assuming things go wrong (which they probably will over time).

So if you’re not “handy,” a condo may be the better move. But if you’re Mr. or Ms. DIY, a house could be a fun project for you.

Condos Can Be Outgrown

While the smaller living space may be easier to wrap your head around, it can easily be outgrown.

If you buy your condo alone, and later have a significant other move in, it may not be long before you’re married with kids on the way.

Assuming you want to start a family, you’ll probably have to begin shopping sooner rather than later for a house and a lot more room.

If you ever look at condo listings online, most of the time there’s a “kid’s room,” complete with a crib, toys, and brightly colored walls.

It’s not a coincidence. Many condo owners simply outgrow their properties, and make their move toward a house.

Sure, you can rent it out, but playing landlord doesn’t come without it’s own work. And selling your condo to buy a house may not provide enough upside for your subsequent down payment.

[How much to put down on a house?]

Houses Are Better Investments

Typically, houses appreciate better than condos. Sure, there will be exceptions to this rule, but it’s generally expected that a house will increase in price at a faster clip than a condo.

This is clearly a plus if you want to make more money on your real estate purchase, which I believe everyone does.

Not only that, but you have more possibilities to put value into a home. With a home, you own the land it’s on as well. This means both the home and the lot can appreciate.

Additionally, you can build upon the structure. So if you have a good-sized lot, you can make your 2-bedroom 2-bathroom house a three or four bedroom home. Or you can add a bathroom.

Assuming you get the work done at a reasonable rate and it’s high quality, your home could be worth a whole lot more.

With a condo, there isn’t a ton you can do to improve it. Sure, you can put in granite countertops, or tear out the carpet and put in wood floors. But there isn’t much more you can do beyond home staging and the superficial stuff.

So you’ll basically just have to hope the area you buy your condo in appreciates over time.

[Best and worst home improvements.]

Houses Don’t Have HOA Dues

Another huge downside to a condo is the associated HOA dues that must be paid each month to maintain the structure itself.

That’s right, you need to pay for things like landscaping, maintenance for the pool and common areas, and make sure there is enough money in the Association’s reserve account.

This has been a problem as of late thanks to all those foreclosures.

In Los Angeles, many condos have HOA dues of $400-$500 a month. Clearly this can make your monthly housing payment a lot more expensive.

In fact, it’s so expensive that you could borrow nearly $100,000 more if you chose to buy a house.

And HOA dues never seem to do anything except go up, nor do they stop getting paid. So if you pay off your mortgage, you will stay have to pay this monthly fee for life.

With a house, you’ll still need to pay homeowners insurance and taxes long after your mortgage is paid off, but that’s unavoidable.

*Some homes may be part of a planned unit development (PUD) and charge HOA dues.

Houses Offer Privacy

One thing I hate about condos is that they’re basically just apartments you own.

You still share common walls and common areas, meaning someone could be stomping around above you. Or blasting music all night long.

The units next to you may also be rented out, so you’ll never know who might move in next door.

You also have very little privacy as compared to a house, and a lot less space generally.

There’s also the parking issue. Most condos come with tandem parking, which has got to be one of the most annoying setups in the history of man.

With a house, you can get peace and quiet, and sit out in your backyard if you need some fresh air. With a condo, you’ll need to head down to the common area, which may not be so peaceful.

There are also fewer rules with a home. If you want to buy a Great Dane, you can buy one. With a condo, pets may or may not be allowed.

[Common home buying mistakes.]

Houses Are Easier to Finance

If you couldn’t tell by now, I favor houses over condos. Another reason why is because houses tend to be easier to finance than condos.

Often times, there are restrictions regarding mortgage financing on condos. If there are too many investor-owned units, the lender may not want to extend a mortgage.

And many condo complexes don’t allow FHA loans and other special types of financing.

Even if they do, the mortgage rate may be higher with a condo, largely because condos carry with them more risk than a house, from the lender’s perspective.

So with a house, you’ll likely get a cheaper mortgage and have an easier time obtaining one.

All that said, you must look at your own unique situation before determining which is better.

In some cases, the condo may be the better purchase. So do your homework, make a plan, and shop around, extensively.

Tip: Also consider townhouses, which are a sort of hybrid between a house and a condo.

Put simply, a pocket listing, also known as a “pocket deal,” is a house that is “for sale,” but not necessarily officially.

So basically a homeowner is interested in selling their home, but for one reason or another, doesn’t want to ink an agreement with an agent just yet.

Additionally, they don’t want the home put on the multiple listing service (MLS), which is the norm for standard listings. In other words, you won’t find it on Zillow, or Redfin, or Trulia…

This essentially keeps the listing a secret, which can change the game entirely.

Why a Pocket Listing?

There are a number of reasons why a home seller wouldn’t want their listing to “go live.”

For one, the prospective home seller may want to hang on to their notoriety, so if it’s someone famous (or infamous), they may choose to keep the listing super low key.

They’ll get in contact with an agent, but they wont agree to anything beyond possibly selling the home.

But it’s not just athletes and movie stars folks. There are plenty of people out there that just aren’t fully committed to selling their home.

These are known as would-be sellers, and websites like Zillow have even zeroed in on these individuals with their “Make Me Move” listings.

Unfortunately, this spells “buy my house for way too much and I’ll sell it,” so it doesn’t make a whole lot of sense to the rational home buyer.

There are also sellers who don’t want a parade of strangers coming through their house every weekend, and creepy cars rolling up and down the street hoping to get a peek at their curb appeal.

These same sellers might not feel like staging their home and keeping it in pristine condition either. Maybe they want to continue living like normal humans while still entertaining the possibility of a sale.

Downsides of a Pocket Listing

Unfortunately, this attitude comes with a lot of potential downside.

First of all, an agent has to be willing to go along for the ride with no guarantee they will get an exclusive right to sell listing. Or any listing at all for that matter.

So they may not be working as hard as they normally would be.

And even if they do, keeping things “hush hush” will make their job a lot more difficult.

After all, they won’t have the buyers coming to them. They’ll need to network with other agents to find a possible suitor. And still, the seller could have a change of heart.

Additionally, they may not know the compensation structure until they’re fully invested.

For the seller, a pocket listing also means less competition, which could lead to a lower offer.

And buyers may not be interested in chasing a property that the seller isn’t so serious about selling. Why waste your time with something they may flip-flip on? They may also be curious why the buyer is keeping it a secret.

Pocket Listings Can Save Face

Most real estate veterans recommend putting your house in front of as many eyeballs as possible to fetch the best price.

A bigger pool of prospective buyers means a higher offer, right? Not necessarily…

Traditional listings can hurt a home seller too. If your house isn’t all it’s cracked up to be, it may sit on the market for months, especially if it’s overpriced and/or has something funky going on.

And as the days keep ticking by, you’ll likely be forced to lower the listing price and/or eventually take the home off the market entirely.

When it comes down to it, nobody likes a stale listing, and over time, the home’s reputation could sour.

So a pocket listing could save you the embarrassment, and possible headache of listing, dropping the price, and dealing with fickle buyers.

Just know that a pocket listing is only as secretive as the agent who knows about it, and it may be well known that your home is being shopped, but still not selling.

(photo: Mike Schmid)