How This Seller Ended Up Selling Below Market Value

Taylor Keagy January 3, 2026

My husband and I bought a house in Ft Lauderdale, November 2024, and got one of the BEST deals that year. In case you’re thinking about selling your home, I want to share a little bit about where I believe the listing team made some mistakes which ended up causing the seller to sell below market value and net less money.

David and I knew, with the uncertainty of the market at the time, we wanted to buy something at or below market value to cushion our investment should the market to dip. I knew I found “the one” when I saw the home had been on the market for 223 days with one expiration and relist. Here’s why I believe it sold for less than market value…

- The home was originally listed for 17% above the market value

- The home should have been staged or vacant

- Minor repairs should have been made to put its best foot forward. A little bit of money invested would have gone a long way.

- The listing team and seller didn’t know pertinent information about the home.

Not having a more strategic plan in place caused too much time to go by. The home became less desirable and ended up stale. Developers were making offers 40% below list price! That’s where we came in. We went under contract 17% below the current list price. Then inspection time came and we negotiated, then negotiated again and negotiated again. So many things went wrong on the other side; market value was no longer an option and I knew with all the time that went by, the seller was desperate for any buyer. We ended up closing another 10% below the original contract price, while getting a $45,000 credit at closing and paying zero closing costs. When all was said and done, we bought the house for 31% below the original list price...lot value.

Moral of the story, if your home isn’t strategically marketed and priced the first time, there can be devastating effects down the line.

If you’re looking for any tips or need help with a plan to sell, I’d be happy to talk with you. You can call or text me anytime.

Committed to your success,

Taylor Keagy, List with Legacy