The Market Has Shifted and a Lot of Sellers Have Not

Buyers have more inventory to choose from in 2026 than they did two years ago. They have more negotiating power. They have less urgency. The frenzied dynamics that produced quick sales at above-asking prices with waived contingencies have been replaced by a market where buyers are comparison shopping, taking their time, and walking away from listings that do not present compelling value.

A significant number of sellers are still pricing as though none of that changed. David Norris wants sellers and their agents to understand what that disconnect is actually costing them.

Why Overpriced Listings Are a Self-Defeating Strategy

The anchor sellers keep returning to is what their neighbor got two years ago or what a Zestimate showed last spring. Neither of those numbers reflects the market those sellers are actually trying to sell into today.

When a listing is priced above what the current market supports buyers see it and move on. Days on market accumulate. And once a listing has been sitting for a noticeable period something predictable happens in the psychology of every buyer who encounters it. They assume something is wrong with the property. Not with the price. With the house. A listing that has been on the market for sixty or ninety days carries a stigma that a correctly priced fresh listing never has to overcome.

The seller who overpriced eventually cuts the price anyway. But they cut it from a weakened position, with accumulated days on market working against them, and often end up netting less than they would have received from a correctly priced listing that generated activity and offers in the first weeks.

What Actually Works in the Current Market

Price it right from day one. Correct pricing creates activity and activity creates offers. The goal is not to leave room for negotiation. The goal is to attract the buyers who are watching the market and know immediately when a property is priced to sell rather than priced to sit.

Think beyond the price cut when a concession is needed. A seller credit directed toward the buyer's closing costs or a rate buydown often does more for the buyer's monthly payment than a price reduction of the same dollar amount, and it keeps the sale price higher in the process. David can show exactly what a buydown does to a buyer's payment compared to an equivalent price drop because the math of those two approaches produces different outcomes that are not obvious until the numbers are laid out side by side.

Know your local market rather than reacting to national headlines. National housing data describes average conditions across millions of transactions. Your neighborhood's current inventory level and average days on market are what actually determine how a specific listing should be priced and positioned. Those numbers look different from one zip code to the next and sometimes from one street to the next.

The Conversation That Saves Deals

If you are selling or you are an agent with a listing that is sitting message David Norris. He will run the numbers on what a seller-funded buydown does to a buyer's payment compared to a price reduction of the same amount. It is a comparison that changes how the concession conversation happens and it is a conversation worth having before the next price cut rather than instead of addressing the underlying issue.

Sources

NAR.realtor
MortgageNewsDaily.com
ConsumerFinancialProtectionBureau.gov
FannieMae.com
Investopedia.com