Why is it that every home seller always thinks their property is worth more than the identical one next door? Much of selling real estate is an art as much as a financial transaction; that’s why no two houses are identical, even if they are.
The success in selling your home probably won’t be the cook’s kitchen that cost a small fortune or even the spectacular sunset views. More than likely, if you’re serious about selling your home at this point in time, you might need to drop the price.
The National Association of Realtors (NAR) is telling us that overpriced houses are languishing on the market as buyers continue to be deterred by elevated mortgage rates and economic uncertainty. Sellers have optimistically priced their homes based on sales from earlier in the 2020s when properties were getting snapped up quickly at high prices. However, the NAR economists are advising owners to decide on an asking price by looking at what comparable houses in their area sold for in the last month or so.
According to Realtor.com, just over 20% of active listings in October had a price cut. This is higher than in the past couple of years, and about twice what it was when prices soared during the COVID-19 pandemic.
In addition, the NAR tells us that homes priced correctly from day one tend to sell more quickly and get nearly 100% of their asking price. After three months, sellers usually trim prices by more than 5% and after a year by more than 12%. Also, if a listing has been on the market for a month or more, buyers sense blood in the water and take the opportunity to negotiate a discount price.
That said, why would you as a seller want to put yourself in that position? The longer you don’t sell a home that you have decided to sell, the more it costs you – not just in money, but in the anxiety of not being able to move on with your plans. If the property is a second home or investment property, then the anxiety may turn into a major financial problem.
Even though inventory is short, so are buyers, and the buyers that are out there and making offers have leverage in making a decision. About 57% of homes sold in 2025 through October had at least one price cut according to the NAR. Between 2020 and 2024, that percentage was closer to 47%. For homes that did sell this year so far with a price cut, the sale price was an average of 3.7% below the asking price. You can assume that there were other sales that had prices cut way above that average.
Finally, sellers are taking their properties off the market rather than cutting prices. Since no one really knows what the future brings, delisting may not be the best strategy, especially in Florida and other southern states. Settling on a list price is best left to real estate professionals who understand that the art of listing is not quickly acquired. These are the people who have heard every story from sellers about the value of their homes, and they’re also the people who will tell you why you need to reevaluate your expectations. Trust them, it’s for your own good.
