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Ben Carson Sells His Florida Home for Way Below Asking Price: Here's Why By Natalie Way | May 30, 2017
realtor.com
Ben Carson might be a famous former surgeon, presidential candidate, and current secretary of Housing and Urban Development, but that doesn't mean everything he touches turns to gold. Case in point? He recently sold his house in West Palm Beach, FL, for $920,000—nearly $300,000 below the $1.2 million list price. This had us wondering: What caused him to cave to a deal so far below what he was hoping to get? According to our records, Carson listed the 6,155-square-foot, five-bedroom, four-bath home for $1.2 million in December 2016. The house was on the market for about six months, which isn't long considering that similar homes in the neighborhood sit for an average of a year and a half before finding a buyer.
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So why settle for so much less than list price? Here are some possible reasons to ponder that could provide some pearls of wisdom for anyone looking to sell their own home, too.
Reason No. 1: The list price was too high Well, here's the obvious possibility: Carson's list price was a bit too big for its britches. That, at least, is the impression we got after talking to the home's listing agent, Arthur Martens at Engel & Volkers. "If Dr. and Mrs. Carson received an offer between $920,000 and $1.1 million, I told them they should take it," he tells realtor.com®. The reason he urged them to accept a lower price was the recent sale of a comparable home down the street. "The comp, which was about 500 square feet bigger with a brand-new roof, had recently sold for $835,000," Martens explains. Savvy buyers catching wind of that sale would likely question why Carson's home costs more, particularly since it has some other problems (more on that below).
Reason No. 2: A leaky roof—and mold