We listed our house and put it under contract within days. When pricing, the realtor suggested a price based on comps and said she was worried about going any higher because appraisals seemed to be coming in a little low almost as though banks might be pressuring the appraisers to keep prices down. There also aren't a lot of sales for comps because people don't like moving in the middle of winter.
I looked at the competition and based on that, we decided to go approx 5% higher. First offer was a cash sale 1% below ask. We didn't negotiate, we waited for the results of the scheduled showings. The next two offers were standard financed purchase at 2% over ask. We chose one and things moved forward. The appraisal came back right where the realtor suggested listing (5% under list).
How in the hell can someone tell me the market value of our house isn't at least 3-4% higher than the appraisal if the first three buyers to look at it all agreed that it is? The old saying is that something is only worth what someone is willing to pay and we have multiple people willing to pay.