Will a Price Change Help?

If your house isn’t selling, should you drop the price? Will a price change help? It is completely understandable, and extremely common, that sellers want to push the price. It’s most people’s largest investment. Everyone wants to get the most they can. Human nature! Home listings often hit the market with a price that’s a bit “aspirational.” But what happens when that price does not produce an offer, or even showings? These questions come to mind:

Will a price drop make you look desperate?

Will it improve the results?

Why not leave the price and tell people we’ll look at offers?

Let’s cut through the noise with some hard-earned truth:  We’ve been through this scenario many times. Yes, a price reduction often helps—sometimes very dramatically.

Why Sellers Get Stuck on Price

It’s common to get emotionally anchored to your initial list price. It felt like the right number at the time. But if buyers aren’t biting – no showings, no offers, perhaps the sound of crickets in the background.. It is time to adjust! That price you picked to start the listing was not sacred. It was just a price tag; an asking price. Sure, you should look at other things at this time. Has buyer feedback suggested that the issue is condition, or the color of the bathroom? Is it well presented on MLS? What has been done marketing-wise? Are there weird smells?

Frequently price is a factor.

Common Objections vs Realty

Those questions that came up earlier:

Will a price drop make you look desperate?

Will it improve the results?

Why not leave the price and tell people we’ll look at offers?

Here’s what I’ve experienced again and again:  A home lingers on the market, and the seller agrees to a modest price change—maybe 3% to 5%, sometimes even less—and suddenly there is a surge in phone calls, showings, questions, and even offers. This has occurred way too many times to be coincidental. It is cause and effect.

Why a Price Adjustment Works

A price adjustment can:

Put your listing into a new price bracket where it is more competitive against the other inventory.

Put your home in front of new buyers whose cap is just below your original price.

Trigger alerts to Realtors and buyers who are watching changes to the market. Buyer’s get pinged on whatever app they use. Agents pull changes on the MLS “hot sheet”.

That new energy isn’t imaginary. There are structural things that shift when you change the price.

Price on a Continuum

Say you’re listed at $800,000. If you dropped to $600,000, you’d probably get swarmed with offers. If you went to $400,000, the phone would blow up!
My point is, every price reduction has some effect. The bigger the drop, the bigger the effect. The trick is finding the drop you’re willing to make that also stirs up interest.

Desperate? Or Smart? Don’t think of it as desperation. You are making a business choice; a response to the situation. Many buyers and most Realtors will respect the move.
If buyers make an offer lower than your new price you still have the opportunity to counter and see if the free market can come up with true market value: What a buyer is willing to pay intersecting with where a seller is willing to sell.

Yes, a price reduction is helpful! And it’s even better when your agent pairs that with a few changes to the marketing mix; perhaps even a change of the photo order.

Also for Sellers:

If you are curious about what you must disclose to buyers, and what you do not need to disclose, the answers may surprise you. Learn more!