“Let’s start a little higher and see what happens. We can always reduce it later.”
It’s an understandable thought. Your home may be your biggest asset. You’ve invested money, time and care in it, and you want the best possible return when you sell.
But when “testing the market” means launching at a price that the evidence doesn’t support, you could lose valuable buyer interest before your sale has properly begun.
The asking price becomes part of your marketing from the moment your home appears online.
Buyers use it to decide whether to click, enquire or book a viewing. They compare your home with everything else available within their budget. Whether you’re selling in Hoyland, Elsecar or Chapeltown, your property needs to make sense alongside those alternatives.
For example, if your likely buyer is searching up to £350,000, an asking price of £375,000 puts your home outside that search. Meanwhile, buyers searching at the higher price may expect more space, an extra bedroom, a different location or additional features.
Adding “a bit of room to negotiate” can therefore mean the people most suited to your home never see it.
There’s also the opportunity that comes with being newly listed. Active buyers notice fresh properties, and an appealing launch can prompt them to act. If the price feels too ambitious, some will simply move on. They won’t necessarily make a lower offer or wait for a reduction. Rightmove’s recent analysis highlights this risk of losing early momentum.
“We can always reduce it later” is true, of course. A reduction can be a sensible response to feedback or changing conditions. But it comes after time has already passed, and it may take fresh marketing to persuade buyers to look again.
Rightmove’s recent national figures put the difference into perspective: properties needing no asking-price reduction found a buyer in an average of 39 days, compared with 119 days for those that were reduced. These are national averages, and the comparison alone doesn’t prove that overpricing caused every delay.
A longer listing can also prompt buyers to wonder why a home hasn’t sold. There may be a perfectly reasonable explanation, but those questions can make the conversation about price more difficult.
That’s why I believe an asking price should come with a clear explanation.
I want sellers to understand the evidence: what comparable homes have sold for, what they are competing against today, and how condition, space, presentation and location affect the comparison. A neighbour’s asking price is useful context, but it doesn’t tell us what a buyer will eventually pay. Zoopla’s pricing guidance also recommends combining comparable sales with an assessment of the individual home.
There is room for ambition. An unusual property, a rare feature or limited comparable evidence can justify a carefully judged approach. Any ambitious launch needs a reason behind it, an agreed review date and a plan for responding to buyer feedback.
Pricing also works alongside everything else we do. Photography, staging, the property description, marketing reach, viewing access and buyer follow-up all deserve attention. Quiet enquiries should prompt a proper review of the whole strategy.
My aim is to help you achieve the strongest result the market will support, with a plan we can explain, measure and refine together.
If your home has already been sitting on the market, there’s no need to feel you’ve missed your chance. A thoughtful relaunch can give buyers reasons to reconsider it.
My Fresh Start service is designed for homeowners whose properties have remained unsold for 16 weeks or longer. We review pricing, presentation and marketing together, with a complimentary home staging consultation and a tailored plan to renew interest.
Thinking of selling, or wondering why your home hasn’t sold? Get in touch for a no-obligation property review consultation, and let’s put together a marketing strategy to get you moving.
Julie Ward | Independent Estate Agent | Keller Williams
Proper Marketing. Proper Negotiation. Properly Personal.