Is "bait and switch" practiced by some Realtors?

Question

My wife and I are looking into buying a house next year. When I check prices on the internet they seem to be cheaper, however when I drive around and pick up flyers from outside the houses on sale in the same neighborhood that I checked on line the average price for the same type of house goes up $50,000 to $100,000 compared to the prices on line, which makes me suspicious.
I don't want to waste my time checking false prices on the internet and I'm not planning on leaving everything on my realtor's hands I wanna be very involved in the whole process.

Thanks in advance for your input.

"acermill" did not read all details carefully, which makes his answer completely helpless.

To "mrsfoster" I'm not Assuming anything or Accusing anyone that's why I'm here ASKING, Thanks for your answer though.

Answer 1

Realtors do not practice Bait and Switch. there could be many reasons homes differ in price in same areas. Improvements, number of bedrooms, square footage, lot size, condition of home etc.....

Find ONE realtor to help you in your search for the right home for you. If they only take you to homes they are listing, move on. Find a realtor that will represent you in the transaction. I guarantee you will have a smooth transaction with a realtor.

Answer 2

Hmmm.

The online price should always be correct, because that's what is on the official MLS.

I am thinking that the pricing may be different on a flyer in the yard because the owner lowered the price on the MLS but did not put out new flyers.

If you are looking at other houses in the neighborhood which are not on the MLS, these may be for sale by owner. They can put any price on their house that they want - and sometimes they are way off target on price because they have not done their homework on what their house is really worth - or they just think that their house is worth more than any other in the neighborhood.

Also, some homes may be larger, or have more expensive upgrades, or a better view, or a larger lot, than others. It's hard to tell standing at the curb.

Realtors can not "bait and switch." That is illegal and unethical.

I am guessing that this is a human error of some sort.

You should be working very closely with your Realtor and very involved with the process. Ask him/her about the discrepancies in pricing.

Good luck and best wishes.

Answer 3

There is not an easy answer to your question. While the recognized way of denoting whether or not an agent represents you is the joint signing of a "Buyers Representation Agreement" (possibly called something else, depending on the state you are in), having or not having that document does not necessiarly control the issue. Procuring cause, as someone else mentioned, can have an effect on the result if two or more realtors are involved and dispute who is owed the commission. Procuring cause is not easy to determine. The National Association of Realtors (NAR) has multiple pages of guidelines to consider when attempting to determine which agent is the procuring cause of a contract. The issue is very complicated, but the bottom line according to the NAR is that there is not pre-determined way to decide procuring cause. Whether or not there is a "Buyers Representation Agreement" is a factor in attempting to determine this, but is note the lone factor in making the decision. If you have signed a representation agreement with realtor A and then you decide to use relator B to write your contract, realtor A might have the right to come after you for the commission you promised to pay them. This is not to say that realtor B can not write the contract for you. As I said, the issue is very complicated. While there are some good answers here, no one can specifically define procuring cause with hard core rules. There is considerably more information I could type here, but I think you get the idea.

Answer 4

You don't say how often this has happened to you. I am not inclined to believe that Realtors generally "bait and switch". Sellers are free to set their sales price any where they want. You could go to a neighborhood and see the house that was listed on line and get that flyer and they only reason the price might be different is if they did a price adjustment on the house. However, the home down the block (one you might have not seen online) may be priced much higher and it may seem out of whack. Their Realtor went along with the seller (he wanted the listing and could talk them down later) or the home might be somehow that much better that the seller and the Realtor think it will sell for that much more. If it happens routinely to you, I would suggest that you print out the info on the house your are looking at and go to that house and see if there is a brochure specific to that house and compare before you go assuming that Realtors are running a "bait and switch" Or call on the listing and ask the office for the price.

Answer 5

A Realtor's job is to find out what yourt needs are. If he fails to do that, he is not a very good Realtor. We as Realtors understand that most people buy a house and become fearful. So most of their tactics behind a Bait & Switch technique get get a chance just to talk to you. So you aren't fooled into buying something else you know you can't afford, get prequalified and find out your price range. Yes, online prices aren't always true or false. Most are just there to make you give them a call in interest. Just don't go over your limit. Some Realtors don't care about your interests. So make sure you make that clear to them. Good luck any questions feel free to ask.

Answer 6

If a home is listed on line at one price, and the flier for the same home is a higher price, the agent just probably lowered the price and has not yet updated the fliers. If the home is listed on Realtor.com, or Yahoo, or any site that pulls info directly from the area MLS, the on line price is correct. Anyway, you can make an offer of any price you like, and the seller can choose to accept or decline your offer, so it's fairly immaterial what he list price is in your question.

Answer 7

The prices you find at realtors online are the actual prices for those houses as listed. The flyers you're getting in person might be outdated. Or the house that is more expensive (while being similar to the ones you saw online) might have more features which prompt the higher price.

Answer 8

Sounds like laziness on the agent’s part. They’re updating their prices in the MLS, but not their flyers. Also keep in mind that websites that list property for sale may only link up to local MLSs once or twice a week to update their data. If you’re not looking at the MLS, you’re not looking at real time data. If you don’t have one, get a buyer’s agent, and they’ll have access to what’s currently in the MLS.

Answer 9

Its possible the realtors do bait and switch. They certainly advertise their best houses and then try to sell you anything that fits your needs.

It may be that driving around you are on the main streets looking at nicer houses, and the houses you found on line are on less busy streets, and less attractive?

Answer 10

There is no 'bait and switch' in real estate. My guess is that you are not viewing comparable properties. The fact that they are in the 'same neighborhood' does not mean that they will be priced similarly. Location, amenities, and condition have a lot to do with pricing.