09/01/2026
I saw another agent post this and LOVED it so I thought it was worth a repeat!
Sellers, we need to have a tiny intervention about price reductions. 😂
When your agent says, “I think we need to reduce the price $5,000,” the immediate reaction is sometimes:
“So I’m just supposed to GIVE AWAY $5,000?!”
Except… you don’t actually have that $5,000.
Here’s the concept I wish every seller understood:
Your asking price is YOUR first offer to the market.
You list at $425,000.
That’s you saying, “Hey market, I’ll sell you my house for $425,000.”
And sometimes the market responds:
“Pass.” 😂
No showings? Pass.
Lots of showings but no offers? Also pass.
Buyers repeatedly choosing the house down the street instead? Very loud pass.
So when we reduce to $420,000, we’re not taking five crisp $1,000 bills out of your pocket and lighting them on fire.
We’re changing the offer.
Because $425,000 was never money you possessed. It was a number we asked the market to accept.
And the market is allowed to say no.
This is the part sellers sometimes fight for weeks while the listing gets older, buyers start wondering what’s wrong with it, and eventually we end up reducing anyway.
You’re not negotiating against your list price. You’re negotiating with the market.
And unfortunately, the market does not care what you paid, what you owe, what Zillow said, what your neighbor got in 2022, or how much you love the backsplash. 😂
The asking price is the first offer.
The market gets the final vote.
