How Craigslist Taught Me About Real Estate Pricing

Guest contributor Mike Sparr of Goomzee says:

I had an interesting epiphany recently, thanks to some recent sales on Craigslist and deeper analysis of my company's data feeds in real estate markets around the U.S. There appears to be a direct correlation between median listing price in a market, and the quantity of price reductions throughout the life of the listing. I mention my Craigslist experience because I recently listed some football season tickets and an 8-year-old four-wheeler for sale and noticed interesting analogs to the negotiations leading to the sale of both items.

On a whim, I wanted to see if I could sell off an unused pair of season tickets to our local college football program. I have three pair and typically only use two pair. I posted the tickets for sale on Facebook first and immediately had interest, questions, and even a couple low-ball offers. If I were desperate to sell these tickets, I may have entertained or negotiated some of the offers, but they were several hundred dollars less than what I desired (despite the fact the season opener was days away and the full season tickets' package value would decrease).

I then decided to post the tickets for sale on Craigslist to expand my potential audience. The interest came in a little slower, but these people were more transaction focused. I had an offer the first day, but it was for the season less the first game, and they wouldn't increase their offer to match my desired price less what I knew I could sell the first game for. I declined the offer and waited. A day later, I had a full price offer from someone in Great Falls, MT (160 miles away) and we met that Saturday before the game and made the exchange. I secured my full price sale with only one day remaining before my package value would drop, but was rewarded for my patience.