We closed escrow this month on a house listed in a range. Range listing is a marketing concept: the seller hopes to get the upper end of the range, but lists the lower end in the hopes of attracting buyers who are looking under a certain price, and who will fall in love with the house and come up with the extra money.
In the example you gave, an MLS search for a buyer who can afford up to $700K, will bring up that listing. If they want the house, they could come up with the extra $29K. However, you also have the risk of someone just offering at the lower end, and that’s what happened to us: we had 2 offers below the lower end.
I think appraisers have a little wiggle room, although someone else may correct me here. Whether a house is worth $699K or $729K is a little of an art, not a science, right? I didn’t see the appraisal for my house-sale, so I don’t know if it came in near my range, or only right at the offering price.
Perhaps we have some appraisers who read these forums, who can educate us about this.