Boston Globe:

Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage, Massachusetts' largest real estate firm with more than 3,500 agents, is coaching agents on how to persuade clients to list their homes at an asking price that undercuts those of comparable ones on the market.

The hope is low prices will attract more prospective buyers, leading to faster sales. Other real estate agents in the Boston area report success with similar strategies in a housing market with an unprecedented glut of properties for sale.

Called "drama pricing" or "energy pricing," it is a drastic measure for difficult times. And it seems to run counter to the conventional strategy of selling your home for the highest price possible.

Does it really help persuade clients to cut their prices when an agent says "let's do some drama pricing" instead of saying "let's cut our price to what the market will actually bear"? If my agent asked me to cut my asking price by 50K, and told me this was an example of "drama pricing" I don't if I'd laugh in his face, or just fire him.

On the other hand, CB is right to be encouraging sellers to get ahead of a falling market, though obviously sellers have to be careful that they are not underpricing just so their agent can get a painless commmission.