The only thing I can think of is that it is appraising for much more than the list price and the seller doesn’t want to leave money on the table. If that is the case then aren’t the appraisers doing the same thing they did in the last bubble. Maybe it was done as a drive by appraisal?
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.
It is a short sale. All the short sale houses I have observed take a long time to sell. They also have weird price changes.
I remember being obsessed with a house in university city back when first house shopping. It was our perfect area, listed for a great price. Unfortunately, it was a short sale and according to our agent everytime an offer came in the bank wanted more. I could actually observe the process using Zillow price history. She advised leaving it to the experts rather than wasting our time. In the end this house sold for the market rate after a long, long time on the market.
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