I got a lot of responses to my previous post about re-listing homes. Here's a sample:

Realty Check Comments:

From Blair D:
"I think re-listing can hurt the seller as much as the buyer in this market. I know of people who are interested in buying a house but are sitting on the sidelines waiting to get the best deal. Most of the prospective home buyers I have talked with say that they won’t make an offer on a recently listed home because the seller has not accepted that the market is softening and won’t come down off their inflated price to sell at closer to fair market value. By re-listing these agents are keeping some buyers from making a serious offer. If the days on market was accurate some buyers would be more willing to make an offer and negotiate. The seller may not get the full listing price that they had hoped for (which may be inflated due to the sellers unrealistic picture of their home in the current market) but at least they’d get an offer and could negotiate from there."

From Kellie F.:
"I've written in several times before, so you already know I am a real estate professional. Having said that, of course relisting is cheating! So is having sellers demand you not put their "fire sale" properties on the multiple listing in the first place so when those "lower than everything else" things sell it isn't a readily available "comp" for everyone to see. However, both of these things are "legal."

Does that make it right? No, of course not. But, especially in this challenging market, real estate is extremely competitive. Often if a seller can't get one agent to go along with these "creative marketing strategies" they will pull that listing from that agent and go to another one who will do what they ask.

Then too, there are agents who suggest these strategies to their sellers. It does go both ways."

Guy F. writes:
"I just bought a home, that had been relisted several times. I loved it, because my buyers agent spotted it in a heartbeat, and it was like blood in the water to her. I lowballed and after negotiation, bought the house for cheap. Maybe relisting is cheating, but it can backfire…."

From Tom K:
I have been keeping a close eye on the real estate market in my hometown of Simi Valley CA for years and relisting is so rampant. I would say over 50% of the home listed have been relisted at least once and perhaps as high as a third have been relsited 3 or more times. It is fraud and deception just as you said, there is no justification in my eyes as to why this should be or is allowed. I keep track the sales in Simi on a very detailed spreadsheet and when a home comes off the MLS and is then relisted I do not change the date I show as the list date and I am seeing an average time on the market to sell of 150, which is well above anything listed above time to sell on the market here in California.

And from Phil:
"In my central Virginia town, supposedly not affected by the housing bubble-burst, I have seen a house that has been on the market for roughly two years as a property to be sold at auction, turn into a house which is on the market only 2 weeks with a newly listed offering price. I have seen numerous properties relist after 1 year or so on the market, sometimes sooner. It seems that relisting is a little quicker in the selling season, i.e. a house is more likely to be relisted from April through August, and occassionally more than once, so it is clearly done to mislead."

Questions?  Comments?