Sound Off: How do you go about setting a list price? Does pricing below market rate always cause a bidding war, or can that backfire?

A: Like it or not, the convention in the city is for agents to list a property for sale with a lower-than-expected list price on purpose. We tell our clients that a list price is as important for what it says directly and what it implies. Determining a property’s value to our clients is our job and that number will depend on each client’s goals.

Some agents take the premise that ¾ of San Francisco properties sell for over list and underprice so radically, that they might as well offer the property for sale for $1. This will lead to mobbed open houses, scores of disclosure packages being sent out and offers by the dozen.

Yes, this style can work, but carries the risk that a winning buyer gets cold feet and walks away when the euphoria of ‘winning’ the property wears off. Runner-ups might be so off-put by the process that they pass if given a chance to buy even if the winners walk. Worse yet, this auction-house style runs the real risk of putting off solid and qualified buyers who don’t write an offer out of fear of being gamed.

We think a more measured, property-specific pricing approach is better. To maximize our seller results, we work with our sellers to make their properties shine so that we elicit emotional and visceral responses from buyers so they fall in love with a property. This is a more involved approach but leads to buyers who are not only far more committed to a property but willing to pay more for it.

Kevin Ho and Jonathan McNarry, Vanguard Properties, 415-297-7462, kevin@kevinandjonathan.com, jonathan@kevinandjonathan.com.

A: Arriving at the...