I’ve lost out on dozens of listings over the years to what I like to call the “magic wand” Realtor. Somehow they manage to convince the home owners that they can sell a home for more than I can. I remember a couple of years ago I sold a 4 bedroom 2400 sf home in Milton for around $635,000. It was a record sale price for that specific model at the time. It was during the fall when the market was a little soft and it took about a month to sell. About a month later I got a call from one of the neighbours a few streets over who had the same model and was interested in selling. I did my listing presentation and gave them an honest opinion as to what the home was worth and how long it would take to sell. A few days after the presentation I got an email from the sellers saying they really appreciated me coming by and spending time chatting with them but they decided to go with another agent. I responded to their email and wished them the best of luck with their sale. The next week the home was listed for $30,000 more than I suggested. Keep in mind, I just sold THE EXACT same model a month earlier, knew exactly how many showings they could expect and pretty much exactly what the offers would come in at. I knew the agent they picked and knew he had a history of overpricing houses just to get the listing and lock the sellers into a contract. He charged exactly the same commission amount as me too but was able to convince the sellers that he had a “magic wand” when it came to selling. Sure enough I watched him put these poor sellers through agony over the next few months while their home sat on the market and didn’t sell. Eventually he ended up relisting the property at a lower price than I suggested and sold but by then the listing was stale and the market had really cooled off. Moral of the story- if it sounds too good to be true it probably is! Base the price on cold hard data and statistics, not on smoke and mirrors.