Some sellers think gimmicks can replace strategy. Others learn the hard way that pricing games don’t fool the market—only themselves. So when a seller slaps a $1 price tag on their home, does it actually work, or is it just a desperate stunt?
In this episode of The Last Honest Realtor, host David Fleming shreds the myth behind $1 listings, revealing why they rarely sell and how sellers using this tactic often end up looking foolish. With 10 years of data to back it up, David exposes why this trick fails, who actually falls for it, and why media outlets like BlogTO keep getting it wrong.
In This Episode:
- The $1 Listing Gimmick – Why it’s more of a red flag than a real strategy.
- The Psychology of Pricing – How real buyers actually react to bait pricing.
- Why No One Sees These Listings – The fundamental flaw that makes them invisible.
- The BlogTO Problem – How bad real estate journalism keeps fueling myths.
- The 1% Reality – What the data says about sellers who try this stunt.
Timestamps:
00:00 – Introduction: $1 listings—brilliant or embarrassing?
04:10 – How pricing psychology works (and why this trick fails).
09:30 – The types of sellers who resort to this stunt.
14:45 – What happens when you search for homes by price? (Hint: $1 listings disappear.)
20:15 – When this strategy kind of works (but not in the way you think).
27:00 – BlogTO’s take: Why they keep getting real estate so painfully wrong.
34:20 – The data deep dive: 573 listings, 10 years, and a brutal truth.
40:55 – Final thoughts: Why real buyers don’t fall for gimmicks.
Don’t Miss:
- The #1 reason $1 listings fail before they even hit the market.
- How sellers using this strategy scream desperation without realizing it.
- The shocking data that proves only 1% of these homes actually sell.
Subscribe to The Last Honest Realtor for unfiltered real estate insights every week.
Like, comment, and share: Have you ever seen a $1 listing in Toronto? Did it actually sell? Let’s discuss!
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