I thought the rinse cycle would be when you laundered your money.

Thanks for the clarification! As far as the asking price rationale, I understand why sellers are stuck in a time warp with only one price in mind (the “won’t lose my shirt” price) but it still rankles me that they would prefer to stay in an unsold house that leaks equity than sell at a small loss earlier rather than a large loss later. I don’t see why buyers would be motivated to buy in that situation – to help someone stay solvent?

I’d just as soon check the prop records and Zillow to find out the last sales price, tax info, etc and make an educated offer to someone who has been in the house long enough to make it worthwhile on both of our parts – rather than buy from a desperate seller who still insists on “his” price.