Probably my favourite tv show is “million dollar listing” (only LA and NY though, the Miami one sucked). Yeah yeah angus is peppered for negs, whatever.

One thing I notice is that they always negotiate the price 1:1 with the seller

Sometimes if they have multiple offers they try to create a mini auction by leveraging one against the other

Even then if the offer is accepted there are “inspections” and contingencies which can affect the final price

In Australia if you have a high end property you almost always go to auction, because:
-having all the interested buyers there bidding against each other is the fastest and most transparent method of price discovery
-there is every chance that there’s just one insane person there that is in love with the property and will bid anything to win it, and it sells way above market (seen it recently with one of my places) but they won’t disclose how desperately they want the property in a 1:1 negotiation, only auction brings out that FOMO
-there’s no contingencies (only warranty the seller gives is free title). Once it’s sold it’s sold, the contract is final on the fall of the hammer.

US brahs is it just a TV thing or do people not sell by auction in the US?

Happens around here all the time bro.

Happens around here all the time bro.

bro around here all the happens time

Is it seen as being the way to achieving a better price?

Why do you think they never show it on reality tv?

I would have thought an auction would be heaps more exciting television than a 1:1 negotiation

I think it has something to do with legalities or regulations? Wish it was that way too

I only ever see it in grass/farm land auction. Essentially the auctioneer and seller hope 2-3 guys that don’t like each other get in a pissing match with each other resulting in a higher selling price but it’s ultimately a crap shoot.

Probably has to do with how most Americans are looking to get a loan approved in order to buy a home and part of that process is the appraisal on the home. If the home is overvalued, the borrower will have to cover that differential upfront as part of a down payment before the bank wil approve the loan. Sellers don't want to go through that process either because they would have to either lower the price (if the selling price is higher than appraisal) or the buyer backs out and still get their deposit back. Helps lenders mitigate risk and you don't often see people have cash in hand to buy without borrowing.

Is that a real risk though? Do banks ever give a valuation less than the purchase price?

Seems strange especially in an auction situation because that’s the most transparent reflection of the market at any given point in time.

In Australia the valuation is pretty much a formality. If it’s more stringent in US that would explain it.

Honestly don't know how often that occurs, but if a house is being sold auction style and a bidding war happens, I can definitely see houses being sold for more than they're worth. You'll see people having as low as 3.5% for a down payment on a home around here, so there's no way that would work in their favor if they can't find a bank that will let them borrow.

Not knowing much about lending money, but if I was operating as a bank, the vetting process makes sense to me with the amount of foreclosures that I've seen around here.

Maybe this show is more up your alley

Homes appraising for less than asking price happens pretty often I think. Seller either has to lower price, buyer comes in with cash to cover or you have to find a new lender and get another appraisal. Usually what will happen is a house may get multiple offers over asking price and the realtor will tell all the potential buyers to submit their highest and best offer by a certain date. The buyers don't know what the other offers are though.

Edit. I should add I think foreclosures go up for auction quite often.