Price It Right, Or Watch It Sit
By Leslie Davis
For Sellers
Overpricing doesn't make you money. It makes you a bookmark on somebody's phone, sitting between a house they'll actually make an offer on and one they're saving "just in case."
At Perch & Oak, here's the plain truth we tell every seller: overpricing is the number one reason homes sit on the market right now, not bad photos, not a paint color, not even a busy road. A home priced to today's comps gets its best shot in its first two to three weeks, when it's freshest and buyer traffic is highest. A home priced on hope gets a slow fade, a string of "just looking" showings, and eventually a price cut that costs more than pricing it right from day one ever would have.
A price cut is a public record. A concession is a closing gift.
So if the price already reflects the market and buyers still need a little help getting there (today's real obstacle usually isn't the price, it's the monthly payment), the smarter move is a concession, not a discount. A closing cost credit or a rate buydown solves a buyer's actual affordability problem without leaving a permanent price-drop mark on the public record, one that can drag down your neighbors' comps right along with your own.
Lead with it. Offering a 2-1 buydown or a closing cost credit up front signals confidence, not desperation, and it often protects your bottom line better than chopping the list price ever would.
One more thing that's changed: since the NAR settlement, buyer's agent commissions can no longer be advertised as a fixed, bundled number on the MLS. What you offer to help cover a buyer's agent is now a direct decision you make, not an assumption baked into the listing. It's one more place where pricing your home well starts with knowing your actual options.
Our team at Perch & Oak runs these numbers for every listing before it ever hits the market: where to price it, what to offer instead of a discount, and what that means for what actually lands in your pocket at closing. Let's talk through yours.
Be Home.
Leslie Davis, AL License #72650
Perch & Oak Property Group
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