Almost every seller I talk to starts the conversation with a number: what should we list it for? It’s the wrong first question — or at least an incomplete one. The number that actually determines how your sale goes is how long comparable homes are sitting before going under contract, not what they’re asking.
List price is a hypothesis, not a fact
A list price is really just an educated guess about what a buyer will pay. The market gives you the actual answer, and it does it through time on market, not through the number on the sign. A home priced accurately for its condition and block tends to move within a predictable window. A home priced aspirationally sits — and sitting has its own cost.
Why sitting is worse than it looks
Buyers pay attention to days on market, even when they don’t say so directly. A home that’s been listed for six weeks starts to look like something’s wrong with it, even if the only actual issue is the original price. That perception often forces a bigger price cut later than a more realistic number would have required upfront.
What “pricing to the market” actually means
It doesn’t mean underpricing your home. It means pricing based on what’s genuinely comparable — sold recently, similar size and condition, same micro-area — rather than what you feel it should be worth or what a neighbor’s home listed for. A price grounded in real recent activity gives you the best shot at multiple interested buyers instead of a long, quiet listing.
The trade-off sellers don’t always see coming
A slightly lower opening price that generates competing offers often nets a better outcome than a higher price that sits and gets chipped away at over time. It feels counterintuitive until you’ve watched it play out a few times.
If you’re getting ready to list and want a grounded read on where your home should actually price — not a number designed to just get the listing — start with a free valuation.
Thinking about your own next move?