For Flathead County single-family residences sold (past one and two years) at prices between $100,000 and $750,000, the vast majority had “9” in their original list price third digit (the “9” in $349,000), while “0” and “5” were also popular, whereas “1” was used the least (i.e. $341,000). Does it make a difference what digit the seller selects in that position? It actually does matter, both in terms of how long it takes to sell and for how much of the original list price.
Original list prices with a “3”, “2” or “8” in the third (thousands) digit had the least median days from listing to contract: nine days, 13 days and 21 days, respectively. Original list prices with a “6” in the third (thousands) digit had the most median days from listing to contract (62 days). See chart for all digits’ statistics.
Original list prices with a “3”, “2” or “8” in the third digit also sold for more of their original list price than other numbers. Original list prices with a “6” or “0” in the third digit sold for the lowest percentage of original list price. Regardless of which numbers were used in the original list prices, what digits were used overwhelmingly in the third digit of the actual sold prices? The answer is “0” and “5”— and sold prices with these third digits also sold for the lowest percentage of their original list prices. Homes that sold for the greatest percentage of their original list price had a “9” in the third digit of the final sold price.
Richard Dews is CEO of Glacier Flathead Real Estate, a Flathead-based real estate software and services company.