Want to Save Big on a Home Purchase? Look for This Phrase in the Listing

Just three little words in the description of a home listing can signal a steep discount worth tens of thousands of dollars.

For-sale listings with the phrase “priced to sell” come with an average discount of 8.5%, according to an analysis from Realtor.com released Wednesday. That translates to a reduction of about $38,000 from the median price of a home.

“We’ve found that certain ‘value’-based words used in listing descriptions are correlated with lower listing prices — and can be used to help homebuyers find true bargain properties,” wrote Ralph McLaughlin, the site’s senior economist, in the report.

Ad

Recent Rate Cuts Could Mean Lower Monthly Payments — See the Latest Rates

State

New Loan Type

i

Loan Amount

i

Find Your Actual Rate at Rocket Mortgage (NMLS #3030) Today!

Estimated interest rate*

7.01%

Money’s methodology:

*Based on an the U.S. average rate for consumers with an Exceptional Fico score (780+) getting a conventional loan, no points, and a 20% down payment. Actual rates may vary. Click "View Rates" to contact Rocket Mortgage (NMLS #3030) for a more accurate quote.

The phrase "priced to sell" is real estate jargon to indicate the house is (or should be) a good deal. In some cases, it could be code for "this place is a fixer-upper and needs some TLC."

Overall, the analysis found that this kind of value-based wording — which also includes “bargain,” “under valued” and similar key phrases — translated into statistically meaningful discounts on home prices in 38 out of the largest 100 metro areas.

Given that mortgage rates are well above 6%, knocking such a large chunk off the home price could provide welcome reprieve for some buyers.

Where ‘priced to sell’ homes have the biggest discounts

Regional factors are certainly at play. The discounts on priced-to-sell houses identified by Realtor.com ranged from 3.2% to 23.1%.

The largest discounts associated with the priced-to-sell phrasing were usually in cities across the South and Midwest (though some Southern areas — notably in Florida — actually had some of the smallest discounts).

Discount %

Median listing price

Discount on median price

Little Rock, Arkansas

23%

$249,900

$57,494

St. Louis, Missouri

18.7%

$264,900

$49,476

Charleston, South Carolina

15.9%

$499,999

$79,558

Memphis, Tennessee

14.5%

$299,000

$43,262

Lake County, Illinois

12.6%

$399,900

$50,464

Nassau County, New York

12.5%

$759,000

$94,662

Cambridge, Massachusetts

11.5%

$779,000

$89,851

Tulsa, Oklahoma

11.4%

$287,500

$32,801

El Paso, Texas

11.2%

$279,000

$31,295

Witchita, Kansas

10.9%

$262,000

$28,655

Source: Realtor.com

On the flip side, the Orlando area had the smallest discount of the metros included in the analysis. Still, looking for “priced to sell” in a listing there could save you 3.2%, or about $13,500 off the typical home.

One caveat that McLaughin mentioned is that if you're searching for a house in an area that is inundated with "priced to sell" listings, then you might not be getting much of a discount. The best discounts are in areas where the phrase doesn't appear in every other listing simply as a marketing gimmick. In that case, it pretty much becomes meaningless.

"To put it more simply, if a lot of listings were priced to sell," he wrote, "then buyers might not expect a discount or might not be able to tease out whether those listings are actually priced to sell."

Ad

Buy your new home with more convenience and less hassle

A Mortgage Expert at Rocket Mortgage (NMLS #3030) can lend you a hand for a smoother process. Your dream home is possible. Click below to make it happen.

Ad

Imagine finally owning your dream home — Rocket Mortgage (NMLS #3030) can help!