The Highest Price Isn’t Always the Best Price
One of the easiest ways to lose a listing appointment is to tell the truth.
I know that sounds cynical, but welcome to real estate.
There have been plenty of times I’ve sat in a seller’s living room, done the research, walked them through the comparables, explained the condition, the location, the competition, the buyer pool, and where I believe the home should be priced… only to hear later that another agent came in much higher and got the listing.
Does it happen all the time?
Yes.
Do I understand why sellers go for it?
Also yes.
Because of course it’s tempting.
If one agent says your home is worth $899,000 and another says $1,099,000, most people are going to perk right up at that second number. It feels better. It sounds better. It validates the money you’ve put into the home, the effort you’ve made, and the emotional value you attach to it.
But here’s the problem: a higher suggested list price does not mean a higher sale price.
Sometimes it just means you hired the better salesperson in the listing appointment.
What “Buying the Listing” Actually Means
In real estate, “buying the listing” is when an agent tells a seller a price that sounds great, wins the business, and then lets the market do the dirty work later.
The listing goes live too high.
Showings slow down.
Buyers hesitate.
Feedback gets awkward.
The property sits.
Then comes the conversation no seller wants to have:
“We need a price reduction.”
That’s not strategy. That’s delay.
And delay is expensive.
Because once a home sits on the market too long, buyers start asking questions. They assume something is wrong. Even when nothing is wrong, the market starts to treat the property differently.
It stops feeling fresh.
It stops feeling competitive.
It starts feeling negotiable.
That’s when lowball offers show up, or worse, no offers show up at all.
The Market Does Not Care What an Agent Promised You at the Table
This is the part nobody loves hearing.
The market is not emotional. It does not care what a seller needs to net. It does not care how much money was spent on upgrades. It does not care that a different agent “felt” the home was worth more.
Buyers compare.
They compare your home to everything else available in the same price range. They compare lot, condition, utility, location, layout, age, upgrades, drawbacks, and resale risk.
So when a seller picks the highest suggested list price simply because it feels good, they may end up pricing their home for a buyer who does not exist.
And that is where listings go to die a slow death.
I’ve Seen This Play Out More Than Once
I’ve watched listings I lost sit for months because another agent came in much higher.
In one case, I was about $200,000 apart from the other agent. The sellers went with the higher number. I get it. Most people probably would.
That property sat on the market for 267 days and expired.
I never called the seller to say, “I told you so,” because that’s tacky and unhelpful.
But did I think it in my head?
Oh, absolutely.
In another situation, a seller wanted more than $1.1 million for a home that, in my opinion, belonged in the low $900,000s. They had work done to the property, and I respected that. But respect for improvements and market value are not the same thing.
At one point, they referenced an appraisal where the home was being compared to properties in a community 45 minutes away. That kind of comparison makes no sense. That would be like comparing one postal code to a completely different lifestyle, buyer pool, and market dynamic and pretending it’s apples to apples. It’s not.
The home didn’t sell while I had it. It expired. Another agent took it on and kept the pricing high.
And guess where I believed it would have sold all along?
Right where I said it should have been priced in the first place.
Price Isn’t Just About Optimism. It Has to Reflect Risk.
This is where some sellers get tripped up.
They look at a broad range and focus on the highest possible number without properly accounting for the home’s drawbacks.
For example, if the comparable range suggests a property might land between $489,000 and $519,000, but the house has little to no water supply on site, requires a cistern, and has an aging septic system that will likely need replacing, those are not small details. Those are major buyer considerations.
That affects demand.
That affects financing comfort.
That affects resale confidence.
And yes, that affects price.
So no, a seller should not assume their property belongs at the top end of a range just because someone else said so in a listing appointment.
A number without context is just a number.
Why Overpricing Hurts Sellers More Than They Realize
Overpricing does not just risk the home sitting longer. It can create a chain reaction:
You miss the window of excitement
The first days on market matter. That is when buyers are paying attention. That is when the listing is fresh. That is when urgency exists.
You help the competition
If your home is overpriced, buyers start looking harder at better-positioned listings nearby.
You invite price reduction fatigue
Once the reductions start, sellers often feel frustrated, defensive, and worn down. It becomes reactive instead of strategic.
You weaken your negotiating position
A well-priced home can create leverage. An overpriced home often loses it.
You can end up selling for less than if you had priced properly from day one
That’s the real kick in the teeth.
So What Should Sellers Do Instead?
Sellers do need to ask hard questions when an agent comes in with a much higher number than everyone else.
Not just, “What do you think it’s worth?”
Ask:
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What sold properties are you basing that on?
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Are those homes actually comparable in location, condition, utility, and buyer appeal?
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What are the risks of pricing at that level?
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What happens if it doesn’t sell in 30 days?
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What is your reduction strategy?
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What will you say to me in three weeks if showings are low and feedback is weak?
Because the truth usually shows up pretty quickly once a listing hits the market.
A Smarter Way to Protect Sellers
And this is where I think sellers should protect themselves.
If you truly want to go with the agent who comes in higher, fine. It’s your home. It’s your decision.
But build in accountability.
A fair approach could be this:
If the home does not sell within the first 30 days, or if the agent comes back asking for a price reduction, the seller should have the right to terminate the listing agreement without penalty.
Honestly? I think that’s fair.
Because if an agent is confident enough to win your business based on a high number, then they should be confident enough to stand behind that pricing strategy.
And if they can’t, the seller should not be trapped in a long contract while the market slowly proves the price was wrong.
That kind of clause forces a more honest conversation upfront.
It separates agents who are pricing to position the home properly from agents who are pricing to get a signature.
The Best Listing Agent Is Not the One Who Tells You the Sweetest Story
The best listing agent is the one who knows how to position your home so that buyers respond.
That may mean pricing with courage.
It may mean telling you something you do not want to hear.
It may mean pushing back when the data does not support the dream number.
That is not negativity.
That is professionalism.
Because listing a home is not about flattering the seller.
It is about getting the seller sold.
And those are two very different jobs.
Final Thought
Any agent can promise you a number in your kitchen.
The real question is whether the market is going to agree with them.
If you are choosing between agents and one of them is significantly higher than the others, do not just ask how high they think your home can go. Ask what happens when it doesn’t.
That answer will tell you a lot more about the agent than the price ever will.
If you’re thinking about selling and want an honest pricing strategy, not a padded one, I’m happy to give you a straight answer based on the market, the comparables, and how buyers are actually behaving right now in Halifax.
