There has been a lot of chatter in recent years about how many companies raised prices well beyond the rising labor and materials costs incurred during the elevated inflationary period during and post Covid. After many years of price stability, mostly fueled by importing goods at a lower cost,  Covid gave many a good excuse to raise prices, some legitimately so and others purely because the consumer had more disposable money (a combination of super-low interest rates, government stimulus checks and lower tax rates).

Can we simply attribute this to greed? What if businesses were simply testing the tolerance of markets price-wise? Anything is only worth what someone is willing to pay for it. Then again, certain essentials are not a purchasing choice, but rather a necessity. In real estate, we are often urged by our clients to price a home above universally tangible market conditions. Are we an instrument of greed, or merely the mechanism that affords a consumer the right to gauge the price tolerance of markets?

When you test something, should you be compelled to do so widely to the entire world, or to a more limited exposure? Financial entity underwriters assess and gauge demand prior to an IPO through private "test the waters" meetings and a subsequent "book-building" process to determine the optimal offering price. Shouldn't home sellers have the same rights?