I Lost a Listing Over Price. Here’s Why It Matters.
I recently lost a listing because my recommended price was about fifty thousand dollars lower than another agent’s suggestion.
For context, I rarely walk away from a listing over price. As long as I am clear about my valuation and the risks, I respect that it is the seller’s decision. I have been wrong before and I will be wrong again. In fact, I often win listings because my pricing comes in on the higher end. But when I push, it is calculated and supported by data.
In this case, I was more cautious about stretching. The home went on the market fifty thousand above my recommendation. After a month without a contract, the price was reduced by exactlyn fifty thousand and it went under contract within a week. The final sales price is still to be determined. For context, here is a link to my pricing analysis.
I am not sharing this to dwell on a missed opportunity. I am sharing it because pricing aggressively carries both significant upside and significant downside. Done right, it can materially increase your outcome. Done wrong, it can cost you just as materially. So what actually happens when you overprice, and when does it truly make sense?
Aggressive Pricing vs. Aspirational Pricing
Pricing aggressively is not the same as pricing aspirationally. It is not a “make me move” number. It is a strategic decision to test the upper boundary of market value, usually above the most recent comparable sales or a neighborhood "record".
In Northern Virginia and DC, this only works when you have leverage. These are highly segmented markets. Arlington is not Ashburn. Capitol Hill is not McLean. Strategy must be hyper local. Aggressive pricing is not a default, but it can be valid under the right conditions and sometimes the best strategy.
The Three Pricing Frameworks I Walk Sellers Through
When I price a home, I typically explain three approaches.
1. The Fast Sale Price
This is the number likely to generate strong activity quickly. It can create competition and potentially multiple offers. The upside is clear. However, the risk is that you may only attract one serious buyer who would have paid more had you priced closer to market. Bidding wars are not guaranteed and this can backfire.
2. True Market Value
This is where the home should realistically sell in a strong, seller favored market. It is usually near the upper end of what an appraiser would or could support with data and comps. If you get this number, you should feel very good about the outcome. In a strong or improving market, even pricing at market value can still generate multiple offers, which is what we are seeing right now. This is generally the lowest risk approach.
3. The Stretch Price
This is the upper band. How far can we go without being dismissed or ignored?
The upside is real. The right buyer may pay it or negotiate from that higher starting point. The downside is also real. More days on market, price reductions, and the stigma that follows can result in a lower final sale than if you had priced correctly from the start.
When Does It Make Sense to Stretch?
1. Timing Is on Your Side
Listing early in the season provides flexibility. Buyers are coming out of winter with limited options. Activity is higher. From March through May, as homes go under contract, the buyer pool shrinks week by week.
Early season gives you room to adjust if needed. Late summer does not.
2. Inventory Is Tight in Your Exact Segment
Low inventory only matters if it is low in your specific price range, neighborhood, and property type. Not just low in headlines.
True leverage exists when buyers have very few substitutes, both today and historically. If several similar homes are available, you do not have pricing power.
3. The Home Is Unique or Appeals to a Niche Buyer
Historic properties, high end custom homes, homes with acreage, or homes with unconventional layouts often have smaller buyer pools.
Some buyers will never consider these properties regardless of price. Underpricing them to attract the masses can bring in the wrong audience. In these cases, you are pricing for a niche and accepting that it may take longer to find the right buyer.
4. The Condition Supports the Price
If you want to be the most expensive home on the market, it needs to look the part.
Paint, flooring, systems, presentation. Turnkey must actually mean turnkey. There is nothing wrong with premium positioning. But if you are going to be expensive, you need to look expensive.
5. You Can Afford the Risk
Stretch pricing requires financial and emotional flexibility. Carrying costs may extend longer than expected. Your next purchase may be delayed.
The math can swing dramatically. If your home should have listed at one million but you list at one million two hundred fifty thousand, the optimistic outcome might be landing somewhere around one million one hundred fifty or one million two hundred. The pessimistic outcome is sitting, reducing to one million, and selling for nine hundred fifty thousand.
That is a $200,000 dollar swing. That risk is real.
A Simple Stress Test Before You Decide
Before choosing an aggressive price, ask yourself:
Is inventory scarce in my exact segment?
Is the timing right?
Is my home truly in top condition?
Can I handle the downside if this strategy fails?
If the answer to those questions is no, price it on the money.
Aggressive pricing can work. But only when the leverage is real.
