Pricing Strategy Guide.

Pricing is the single biggest decision in a home sale. Get it right and you'll have multiple offers within the first weekend. Get it wrong and your listing will sit, get stale, and ultimately sell for less than it would have if priced correctly from day one.

The "list high, we can always come down" myth

This is the most common pricing mistake, and the most expensive. Here's why:

• Day 1-14 of a listing is when you get the most exposure: MLS hot sheets, agent searches, Zillow alerts, new-listing emails. Buyers in your price range see it that week.
• If you're overpriced, buyers in your actual price range don't see your listing (you're above their search filter)
• By the time you reduce 2-3 weeks later, the eager buyers have already bought something else, and your listing now has "days on market" baggage
• The end result is almost always a lower final sale price than if you'd priced correctly from day one

How professional pricing works

I price based on:

• 3-5 recent comparable sales (last 90 days, same neighborhood, similar size and condition)
• Current active competition, what else buyers in your price range can see right now
• Pending sales, what's gone under contract recently and at what price
• Market velocity, is your area trending up, flat, or down?
• Your home's specific condition and features

The "just below the threshold" trick

Zillow, Realtor.com, and MLS search filters cluster at price thresholds. Buyers search "under $400K," "under $500K," etc. Pricing at $399K vs $401K can mean tens of thousands of buyers see your home vs not.

Same logic at $499K vs $501K, $599K vs $601K, etc. We'll price strategically right under the relevant threshold for your home.

How long should you wait before reducing?

Standard rule of thumb in NE Florida:

• 10-14 days with strong activity (10+ showings, 2+ offers in pipeline), hold firm
• 10-14 days with moderate activity (5+ showings, no offers), small reduction or refresh marketing
• 14-21 days with weak activity (under 5 showings, no offers, no calls), meaningful reduction needed

How much should you reduce by?

Tiny reductions ($1K-$5K) usually do nothing. The reduction has to be enough to:

• Re-trigger Zillow/MLS new-price emails to buyers tracking the listing
• Cross a search-filter threshold (e.g., $410K → $399K)
• Signal to the market that you're serious

Typically a meaningful reduction is 2-5% of list price. We'd rather do one strong reduction than three small ones, the market reads a series of small reductions as desperation.

What about "auction" pricing?

Pricing slightly below market value to attract multiple offers is a strategy, not a discount. In a hot market, listings priced this way often sell over list price by 5-15%. We'd discuss whether this fits your timeline and risk tolerance before listing.

The price-per-square-foot trap

Buyers and Zillow love $/sqft as a comparison metric, but it's a blunt tool. A 1,400 sqft home isn't worth 70% of a 2,000 sqft home in the same neighborhood, there are fixed costs (kitchen, baths, lot) regardless of size. We'll use $/sqft as one data point, not the headline.

"Pricing your home is the most important number in the transaction. Get it right on day one, everything else gets easier."

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