STOP Overpricing! The TRUTH About Why Your Home Isn’t Selling

1. The 2025 market reality (a.k.a. why buyers are pickier)

In the pandemic days, you could list a broom closet and get five offers.
Now? Not so much.

According to Realtor.com’s October 2025 report, active listings are up more than 15% year over year, and the median days on market is 63 days, about five days longer than last year.
Translation: buyers have more homes to choose from and are taking their time.

Zillow’s national data shows a similar picture: inventory is over 1.3 million homes for sale, and more than half of recent sales—about 54%—are closing under list price.
So buyers are negotiating… and often winning.

At the same time, mortgage rates are still not “cheap.”
Freddie Mac’s survey has the 30-year fixed around the mid-6% range in late 2025, down from last year but way higher than the 3% era everyone remembers.

Higher rates = higher monthly payment = buyers get very sensitive about price.

And sellers are feeling it. A recent Zillow study found that around 27% of listings nationwide have had a price cut, with the average cumulative reduction about $25,000 per listing.

So the big picture:

• More inventory
• Homes sitting longer
• Discounts and price cuts becoming normal

This is not the moment to play “let’s see if someone overpays.”

2. What actually happens when you overprice

[On screen: Screenshot of chart / simple animation of a price tag going down over time.]

The Wall Street Journal recently looked at 2025 sales and found that more than half of homes sold this year through October had at least one price cut.
Using National Association of Realtors data, the article shows that homes that needed a price cut spent about five times longer on the market than homes that were priced right from the start.

Even worse, the longer a home sits, the bigger the haircut:
The WSJ charts show that by the time a listing has been sitting for several months, the average total price reduction reaches the high single digits to low double digits relative to the original list price.

So, overpriced homes go through three painful stages:

1.     The “Crickets” Stage

o    First two weeks, you expect a parade of buyers.

o    Instead: a couple of showings, no offers, and your agent refreshing the listing like Instagram.

2.     The “What’s Wrong With It?” Stage

o    After 30–60 days, buyers start asking, “Why is this still on the market?”

o    Even if the house is fine, the story looks bad. Algorithms push fresher listings; agents use your home as a “comparison” to show how nicely priced other ones are.

3.     The “Huge Discount” Stage

o    Eventually you cut the price—sometimes twice.

o    By this point, Redfin says the typical home is already selling for about 1.5% below the final list price, and only about one-quarter of homes are selling above list—lowest October share since 2019.

o    If you started too high and then had to cut, you’ve basically trained buyers to expect a bargain.

3. Two sellers, two very different outcomes

Let me give you a simple story.

Seller A: “Let’s just try higher”

Emma’s home should realistically list around $600,000 based on comparable sales.
She says, “Let’s start at $650,000. We can always drop later.”

• Week 1–2: Very few showings, no offers. Other homes priced correctly are getting the traffic.
• Day 45: First price cut to $625,000. Buyers have already seen it online for weeks and scroll right past it.
• Day 90: Second cut to $599,000 to “get serious.”
• Finally after almost three months, she gets one offer at $585,000 plus a request for closing cost credits.

By the time you add:

• extra mortgage payments,
• taxes, utilities, insurance,
• and the emotional wear-and-tear…

Emma’s “let’s test higher” strategy cost her money.

Seller B: “Let’s price it right”

Now meet Carlos. Same neighborhood, similar home.

He lists at a sharp, realistic $599,000 from day one—right in line with the comps and slightly under the predictable range to create urgency.

• Week 1: 12 showings.
• Day 10: Two offers, one at list, one slightly over with better terms.
• Under contract in less than two weeks, at $605,000.

Carlos moves on with his life a month earlier, with a higher net and fewer gray hairs.

Did Emma’s house ever magically become worth more? No.
She just took the scenic—and expensive—route to the same (or worse) number.

4. “We can always drop the price later” – why that’s risky

Let’s tackle the classic seller objections.

Objection 1: “We can always drop the price later.”

You can, but here’s what you lose:

• Momentum.
  The first 7–14 days is when your listing is “fresh” and most visible. That’s when serious buyers and their agents are watching closely. Waste that window with an unrealistic price, and you don’t get it back.
• Perception.
  Every price reduction sends a signal: “Something isn’t working.” Even if the home is perfect, the market story becomes: overpriced, stale, maybe the seller is getting desperate.
• Negotiating power.
  By the time you finally reach a realistic price, buyers often think, “Let’s wait, they’ll cut again,” and come in even lower.

Objection 2: “But buyers love to negotiate! I need room.”

In today’s market, buyers already know the market is slow and that inventory is up. Realtor.com’s data shows 63 median days on market and consistent **double-digit year-over-year inventory growth.
They’re already negotiating.

If you start way too high, your home may not even make their shortlist.
Serious buyers look at homes that are:

• in their price range
• aligned with recent sales
• and not obviously out of touch with reality

You’re not “leaving money on the table” by pricing correctly—you’re getting to the table at all.

Objection 3: “My home is special.”

Totally possible!
But even special homes live in a world of comparable sales, buyer budgets, and mortgage payments.

Remember: buyers don’t see your memories, they see:

• square footage
• condition
• location
• monthly payment

Your pricing strategy has to speak to them, not to your nostalgia.

5. What correct pricing does for you

Let’s talk about the upside of getting this right from day one.

[On screen: simple three-column graphic: “Price Right → More Showings → Better Offers”.]

1.     More showings, faster
Priced correctly, you sit at the top of more buyers’ search results and agent alerts.
Algorithms love realistic pricing; humans do too.

2.     Shorter days on market
NAR data used in that Wall Street Journal piece shows that homes priced right from the start can sell in a fraction of the time compared to homes that need price cuts.
Less time on the market usually means fewer lowball offers and less stress.

3.     Stronger final price
When a home is obviously well-priced, buyers compete with each other, not with you.
You’re more likely to get close to list—or even a bit over—versus chasing the market down with multiple cuts.

In other words:
Correct pricing is not being “cheap.”
It’s playing offense instead of defense.

6. Wrap-up & Call to Action

So, here’s the big takeaway:

In a slow market with higher mortgage rates, growing inventory, and more price cuts, testing an unrealistic number first is usually the most expensive experiment you can run.
Pricing your home correctly from day one is a strategy, not a surrender. It protects your time, your sanity, and your bottom line.

If you’re thinking about selling and you’re not sure what “correct pricing” looks like in your area, drop your questions in the comments—I read them all.