Putting a house on the market and seeing what it will sell for is a more accurate way to appraise the value of a house than having an appraiser appraise it. He’s already had it appraised by the market, and it’s not worth the original asking price. At least not during the time it was on the market. It’s possible that he thinks a spring bounce or other change in the market will increase the value of his house. But for him to hope that a change in the market will increase the value from below his original asking price to above it seems, to put it nicely, optimistic.