Interesting you should ask this question as I was in a class a couple of week ago where the instructor discussed this very thing. He said most agents think they are helping their seller by being right under a breakpoint, in your scenario $599,000. However if they were to list at $600,000 they would actually capture more buyers in the search on Realtor .com. The searches break at the even numbers so by listing at $600,000 you get buying putting in a search criteria of $550,000 to $600,000 and also those in $600,000 to $650,000. I haven't verified this information but it makes perfect sense. Besides no buyer is fooled by $599,000 as they know it is really a $600,000 home.

I advocate for $600,000 - to capture a wider range of buyers too. Interesting debate- we all used to go for the $99,999 prices - now it's the evens because of the way people search. 

Debbie Gartner - well, for all practical purpose $600,000 is a better choice....

It wasn't made in China, it's not on a shelf at walmart and I'm not going to put a walmart price on it. $600.000.  And Debbie Reynolds' explaination is perfect and exactly how I explain it to my sellers.

It's simple really,a $600,000 price will capture people looking at $500K to $600K plus those searching from $600K to $700K. In theory it should double your hits. 

flat 600K to capture both buyer price brackets is my vote

Hi Debbie -- this is an age old real estate question and I have had prices all over the board ending with 000, 999, 880, 750, 500, 250 and more.  The best price is the one when it closes.

I would go for the $600,000 to capture a wider range of buyers. A prospective buyer would most likely make a lower offer anyway so that extra $1000 in this price category is not making much of a difference.  

$600,000 is the better list price. We are in a technology age now. People are searching via websites and phones. When they search, they use round numbers not odd numbers. You will hit more buyers with this number and probably hit two buyer ranges. (ie: buyers searching from 500,000-600,000 and 600,000-700,000). I think it is detrimental we change our thinking from that old 99 cents sales mentality.

I like 599,000 it sounds less than 600,000 even.  

I vote for $599,000

I list in round numbers because that's how people search for homes (including agents on the mls). AT $600K you attract the $550-600K buyer and the $600-650K buyer. Why lose a potential buyer over $1,000 dollars.

They say........and I want to believe they know what they suggest. But I just looked at the property $1,199,999~ I do not believe it sounds right! 

 Good morning Debbie. It boils down to that 9 rule. It is a subliminal way to fool people into thinking they are getting something for a lower price.

I figured this one would spark a debate. I had to stop by and see what others had to say. Personally if I was searching for a client and they said they wanted a home in the $600,000 price range, I would be searching homes in the $590,000 price range, too. 

It would make a big differenece if the  buyer said to look at 600-800,000.  YOu would miss all the high 590's

where you search cheaper homes one missed out next level during their search. 

I don't think it matters that much for the 500 to 600's.  It may matter in the lower price ranges.

Debbie nailed this one!

Debbie - It is all driven by how buyers search for a property... and I have never known of one that started or ended their price range at 999, while some websites have the drop down only option for round number pricing.  Go with the large crowd and price at $600,000.  I heard this back in 2009 at a CRS class in Las Vegas and have followed it since.

I have split the difference. List it at $600,000 for the first couple of weeks to catch the current buyers, then drop it to $599,000 to catch those looking for reduced prices. I also try to hit the 575, 550, 525, etc price points if bigger price changes are needed. 

It doesnt matter to me. When I search for a house, I try to go __%  up and down to capture the bargains and the overpriced and hopefully find the right house for the client. 

When you get into the higher price points, the benefit of pricing just under is out the window per say. There is a big difference between $99,900 and $600,000.  In the lower price points people may search for 100-150,000 but in the higher range you have to round up to a whole number such as 600k. 

It has been my understanding that you list for $600,000 so that when an agent is searching for client..if they search from $550,000 to $600,000..your listing would come up ....and if you search from $600,000 to $650,000 the listing would be in the search.

In the high range in the 1st search and in the low range for the 2nd search..

While searching for my buyers I generally go 10% higher and lower than the budget.