Why the highest asking price doesn't always lead to the highest selling price.
There's a conversation I have with almost every homeowner who's thinking about selling.
"What do you think we should list it for?"
It's a fair question. After all, your home is likely one of your largest financial assets, and naturally, you want to get every dollar you can out of it.
But here's where things can get tricky.
There's a difference between what we want a home to sell for, what we list it for, and what a buyer is actually willing to pay.
And in today's real estate market, misunderstanding that difference can be expensive.
The Market Doesn't Care What We Think Our Home Is Worth
I know that sounds a little harsh, but hear me out.
You might have spent $100,000 remodeling your kitchen. Your neighbor might have sold for an incredible price two years ago. Maybe you've watched home values climb over the last decade and have a certain number in mind.
All of those things matter to you. Some may matter to a buyer.
But ultimately, the market determines value.
And the market is made up of buyers comparing your home against every other available option.
Today's buyers have access to more information than ever before. They're watching listings, comparing prices, studying photos, and paying attention to how long homes sit on the market.
They can recognize when something is priced appropriately. And they can usually recognize when it isn't.
You Only Get One Chance to Be the New Listing
Think about how people shop for homes.
They've saved their searches on Zillow, Redfin, or their favorite real estate app. They get notifications when something new hits the market. And when a home checks the right boxes, they want to see it.
That initial excitement is incredibly valuable.
It's when your listing is fresh, your marketing is reaching the largest pool of interested buyers, and people are deciding whether your home deserves a closer look.
But what happens when the price doesn't make sense?
Buyers scroll right past it.
Some might save it and wait for a price reduction. Others won't give it a second thought.
And while you can always lower the asking price later, you can't recreate that original first impression.
A price reduction might get someone's attention. But it rarely generates the same excitement as a well-priced home hitting the market for the first time.
What the Numbers Tell Us
The Orange County housing market has been giving us a pretty clear lesson about pricing.
Consider these September sales figures:
Homes that never reduced their asking price: Sold in a median of just 11 days and averaged 100% of their asking price.
Homes that reduced their price by 1%–4%: Took a median of 56 days to go pending and ultimately sold for an average of 98.4% of their final asking price.
Homes that reduced their price by 5% or more: Spent a median of 81 days on the market and sold for an average of 97.8% of their final asking price.
Let's put that into perspective.
Imagine three homeowners who ultimately have their homes priced at $1 million.
The first homeowner prices appropriately from the beginning and sells for $1 million.
The second homeowner starts too high, eventually reduces to $1 million, and sells for approximately $984,000.
The third homeowner makes a larger price adjustment, finally reaches $1 million, and sells for approximately $978,000.
That's a difference of $16,000 to $22,000, not to mention the additional time spent on the market.
These are market averages, not guarantees for individual homes. But the relationship between pricing, market time, and final sale price is difficult to ignore.
And there's another part of this story worth considering.
Sometimes the Home Doesn't Sell at All
Not every overpriced home eventually finds a buyer.
According to the September market figures, 45% of available homes in Orange County had already experienced at least one price reduction.
Even more telling? More than 1,000 homes were taken off the market that month without selling.
Think about that for a moment.
That's more than a thousand homeowners who went through some combination of preparing their homes, taking photos, scheduling showings, keeping their homes presentable, and waiting for the right buyer.
Only to walk away without a sale.
Now, not every homeowner who removes a listing does so because of price. Circumstances change, and sometimes selling simply isn't necessary anymore.
But it does highlight an important reality:
Putting a home on the market and actually selling a home are two very different things.
Pricing Strategically Isn't the Same as Pricing Low
This is probably the most important distinction I want homeowners to understand.
When I recommend a competitive asking price, I'm not suggesting we give your home away.
Quite the opposite.
My job is to help you maximize what you walk away with at closing.
Sometimes that means pricing right at market value. Sometimes it means positioning a home slightly below comparable properties to encourage more activity and potentially create competition.
And sometimes a home's unique features justify a premium.
There isn't one pricing formula that works for every property.
What matters is understanding the competition, the buyer pool, recent comparable sales, and current market conditions before deciding how to position the home.
The asking price is part of the marketing strategy. It's not a statement of what we hope the home is worth.
A Good Agent Should Tell You What You Need to Hear
Here's something else I think homeowners deserve to know.
When interviewing real estate agents, it's tempting to gravitate toward the person who suggests the highest listing price.
I understand why. Who wouldn't want to hear their home is worth more?
But an agent suggesting a higher price doesn't necessarily mean they can deliver it.
I'd rather have an honest conversation about what the market supports than promise a number simply to win a listing.
Because once your home is on the market, it doesn't matter what I think it's worth. It doesn't matter what another agent promised.
What matters is how buyers respond.
And I'd much rather position your home to succeed from day one than spend the next three months chasing the market through price reductions.
The View From Our Porch
Selling a home isn't about winning the contest for the highest asking price in the neighborhood.
It's about achieving the best possible outcome.
That means understanding the market, creating a thoughtful pricing strategy, marketing the property effectively, and knowing how to negotiate when the offers arrive.
The homes that sell quickly and successfully aren't always the ones with the lowest prices or the fanciest upgrades.
Often, they're simply the homes that buyers recognize as a good value compared to everything else available.
Price creates interest. Interest creates opportunity. And opportunity creates leverage.
That's the kind of position I want my sellers to be in.
If you're thinking about selling your home in Huntington Beach or Long Beach, I'd be happy to have a conversation about what your home might realistically sell for and how we'd position it in today's market.
No inflated promises. No pressure. Just an honest look at the numbers and a strategy built around your goals.