Are contract prices truly top secret until closing?

yes, it is confidential to protect the buyer.

It's confidential until the closing, when it becomes public info. The REBNY Code of Ethics, for example, prohibits disclosing to a third party.

The broker in question is trying to avoid telling you you're out of bounds.

Thanks for the responses. How about a broker saying something like, "recent contracts at my firm have been down 25% from listing" without discussing specific properties. Would that cross the line? I'm just trying to get a more up to the minute feel for the market without waiting for the closings. Wish a broker could add some value that way.

It could be considered an average of 25% of listing price. Then you have to think about if it was the original listing price or a slashed one. There are plenty of properties that are/were overpriced and those could be down 25%. The properties priced right may be closer to 2-5% or even over asking, who really knows. by not being specific, the broker is not disclosing any information that pertains to a particular property.

25% of listing price equals a 75% discount. I doubt the apt. sold for that much.

"How about a broker saying something like, "recent contracts at my firm have been down 25% from listing" without discussing specific properties.

Noah at Urban Digs has posted that data. Saying that apts. are down by X% would not really be productive since price declines vary greatly based on price range and location. There is no uniform number.

it's confidential, unless it comes out during litigation. btw, some interesting things going down there.

thedeuce, check your mail.

I guess my follow-up question should have been, can a broker find out contract prices for business done at his own firm, and can he communicate that to clients in some general way without discussing specific properties. Not sure if a broker within the same firm is considered a "third party." If the broker cannot ethically know the contract prices, this discussion can end now.

Didn't mean to focus you on the metric (% off listing price in my bad example) but on the larger disclosure issue

thedeuce, i think ethically (such as it is) a broker has his/her obligation to the developer in your example. Not to say that a broker with some self interest might not try to goose the process, but i don't think you'll have seen that yet, in larger developments with stronger developers.

you did notice the you have mail, correct?

AR- just opened my mail. Be back shortly. My OP here was really more about tracking comps. I never thought I'd get any disclosure about new contracts in my development. Anyway, there haven't been any. This supposedly active spring selling season was a big zero for them. Yup, nada. Only interest has been way, way, way below listing.

Can a broker tell you what the accepted offer is after the contracts are out? Are the seller's agents under an obligation to tell you the actual number?

on behalf of seller clients, i never disclose a price until deal closes, because what if the deal falls through and you decided to tell other interested parties or brokers that missed out. Now your back to square one, and people know what your client, the seller, agreed to. thats a tasty nugget of information. perhaps it used to be quality to say a deal was agreed to at a much higher price, if it later fell through, but in this market, i see no reward to want to disclose. i simply keep it private to parties involved until after closing, then update internal system.

I heard a broker at an open house this Sunday tell a prospective buyer that the contract for the apartment fell through and that X was the $$$ that was agreed to. "I'm sure if you offer X the place could be yours but, I'm not really supposed to tell you that.", said the not so trust worthy broker. This was followed up with, "this apartment was assessed for XXX in late 2007, that's what a great deal it is!".
Do you have any idea how hard it is to hear these comments and not make smart ass remarks?
It takes total concentration.......grasshopper, now tie up the nuts, swing that rope over the rafters and lets get this party started.

my apologies to kung-fu fans everywhere.

It's ok, most RE people already have a rope around their neck.

I wasn't talking about the SE nuts.