It is definitely intentional. I would disagree with the part about the bidding war. Purchasing works more like a blind auction. Everybody puts in one bid on

It is definitely intentional. I would disagree with the part about the bidding war. Purchasing works more like a blind auction. Everybody puts in one bid on the offer date. Often buyers agents will avoid situations that can turn into a bidding war, and I got the sense that shopping offers (by sellers) is considered bad form among agents and can lead to reputational damage. Imo widespread underpricing has more to do with getting eyeballs on Zillow, Redfin, Trulia, etc. People set list prices to show up in searches.