Morgan Trent, realtor

It's possible your realtor believed they were working in your best interest at the time, or just misread the market in advising when to list and at what price. Valuation can be a tricky balance between data and instinct; it's more of a data-driven science for actual appraisers. A lower listing price can yield the same sale price as a higher one while shielding the seller from a potential appraisal shortfall (which can potentially submarine an ongoing transaction), which sounds like how it maybe worked out here. Did the buyer share their appraisal with you (assuming they had one)?

Or your realtor could have been motivated by velocity, as you suggest. Definitely possible.

Whatever the case, congrats on the sale and on getting a price that made you happy in the end.

I think the biggest issue is with buyers agents. There's no question that a good real estate agent has enormous value for many buyers, but the compensation structure is completely backwards as it incentivizing closing deals at higher prices, which is at odds with the buyers interests. Turnover is too high and the barrier to entry for new agents is too low - while someone who is established has a reputation that tempers unethical behavior, at the low end of the market I've seen a lot of bad actors.

Doctors are actually a great example of precisely why this is such a problem - we regularly read stories about unnecessary procedures and creative medical coding that drives up costs for consumers. And there has been a persistent conversation about making medical compensation tied to outcomes instead of procedures. Honestly, I think all it would take for to clean things up is to change the compensation for buyers agents to negotiated fee rather than commission. 

Our motto is, "TP for Every Bungholio."

"corn" was my call sign in the Air Force.  Ha.  I did some impressions back in the day and it stuck.

Not to get too into the weeds, but just to respond to these concerns...

1) I don't know how it works in other markets but around here if a listing agent violates the time requirement on status change, they are quickly called out by other realtors and incur a fine, which escalates with recurrence. Popular third-party sites like Zillow routinely continue to show properties for sale even after the local MLS shows them under contract. It's a source of consternation for buyers who get excited about homes they find via Zillow search only to find out they're essentially unavailable. I presume this is rooted somehow in Zillow benefitting from more site traffic generated by a greater number of available listings.

2) I'd encourage anyone to ask their realtor if they are receiving any sort of incentive for recommending these various professionals. Part of my value is being able to refer my clients to lenders, inspectors, contractors etc with whom I've worked in the past and hold a high opinion. It's a good practice to ask your realtor for 3 names for each service so you can compare.

3) Agree.

4) I'm on our local board's grievance committee. The complaints are all either commission disputes or code of ethics violations. We hear quite a few, but it could be that more are warranted. The complainant need not be a real estate professional.