Whenever I read this headline in print media or in a social media brag post, I am instantly skeptical and/or suspicious. Chances are the seller or agent boasting a sale in one day did not take one day to sell that property. Often, far from it!

Recent headlines have touted Shark Tank's Barbara Corcoran selling her Manhattan penthouse in one day. The listing was made live on May 8th and listed under contract on May 9th, one day later. A New York Times article debuted on May 6th, 2 days before the listing went live. The apartment was fully staged which usually takes weeks if you are to consult with a stager, move out furnishings, move in new furnishings ,accessorize, photograph, etc. In other words, the process started weeks before the listing went live on the market.

Yes, it is possible to negotiate a sale and sign in one day. It's also probable that this took longer. What we can be certain of, though, is that the entire process took many weeks and even though a contract is signed, now a very detailed approval process begins and this often takes many weeks to conclude which involves tons of work. The sale will probably close several weeks from now. Being a co-op there is also always the chance of  The Board turning down the buyer. Hopefully that does not happen. Hopefully this sold over the asking price (likely as it was priced below its purchase price), but we will only know when it actually sells (when it officially closes/funds), several weeks from now.

My point? This property (like so many others), did not sell in one day. And this message distorts the extensive work it takes to make a sale like this happen. I know this and many others too, but the vast majority who read these headlines (or on Instagram/Tik-Tok), of Insta-success, builds a false impression of how "quick-'n-easy" it is to sell expensive real estate and earn what appears to be big bucks for relatively little work. That is far from reality, even with a "one day sale".