[Porsche-O-Phile]

Just wondering if anyone knows a resource out there to find out what the ACTUAL selling price of properties in a particular area is. Not "listing" price - the actual agreed-upon, contractually bound SELLING price.

Realtors (obviously) won't ever admit that anything EVER sells for below asking price (since they want the whole world to believe that prices are going to see double-digit appreciation for all time, there's no bubble and $500,000 is perfectly reasonable for a fixer-upper in Compton). They're paid a percentage - I fully understand their motivation.

OTOH, buyers might or might not honestly state the agreed price. If they say "yes, I got a good deal and paid 15% below listing price", they get some bragging rights, but now EVERYONE expects to pay that and it potentially drives the property values down. The best situation for a buyer is to get a killer deal and then have everyone else around them assuming that $100,000 or more is acceptable - this drives property value up. Overstating agreed-upon purchase price could lead one to believe, "geez, this guy is a sucker" though - so most people just clam up about it and don't discuss what they agreed to pay.