When I lived in Maryland, I put my house up for sale just 2 weeks before my neighbor did (March 2007). The Realtor I used had also talked to my neighbor and when he gave them his estimate of what their house was worth, they basically threw him out of the house. They thought it was worth SO much more. I, however, listened to him and followed his suggestions. The result?
I sold my house, TWICE (the first set of buyers never showed up to closing), by July 2007. I was asking $400,000. My house sold for $400,000 with $10,000 given back at closing to help with closing costs.
My neighbors house sold in February of 2008. They had finally put it on the market for $425,000 (which was still less than they really wanted for it). It sold for $347,500. I have no idea if that was final or if they also gave back at closing.
Maybe, just maybe, if they had listened to the Realtor they would have done better. Their house was larger than mine. I never did see the inside but I'm told it was in good shape. Of course, the houses were both put on the market right as the housing market became a buyers market so having it take 10 months to sell meant that the prices were in the free fall of todays market. I am SO glad I listened and didn't try to get greedy.
