Many agents right now are dealing with stubborn sellers, difficult conversations, and listings that are just sitting there. If that’s you, I want to get you fired up to go back into your listing inventory and have those heart-to-hearts with your sellers.
Take a hard look at your current listing inventory and do a little math. How much money is sitting on the shelf in unsold listings? How much commission is just sitting there, uncollected, because a home has not moved?
Sometimes that number is all the motivation you need. When you look at it and realize there might be $20,000, $30,000, or $50,000 in real estate commissions sitting in unsold inventory, it changes the way you look at a price reduction conversation. It stops being a conversation you avoid and becomes a conversation that can change your month.
But this is not only about your commission. It is also about the seller. As stubborn as sellers can be, they came to you for a reason. They hired you because they wanted that home sold. I have always thought of it this way: we are the doctor, and they are the patient. Sometimes the doctor has to bring news the patient does not want to hear. That does not make the doctor wrong. It makes the doctor responsible.
I started selling real estate in a market where rates were around 9%. Then they went to 11%, to 12%, to 13%, to 14%, and within a year they were at 18%. That was my first year in the business. It was not fun, but it taught me early that I had to price listings as carefully as I could, and I had to get very good at handling a price reduction conversation. If I did not, I was not going to get anything sold.
Winning the Listing Is Only Step One
We all know winning the listing is step one. Selling it is step two.
Sometimes you are going to take a listing that is overpriced. The market is unpredictable and there are times when you take one you think is too high, and it sells in a week. You take one you think is right on the money, and it needs two reductions.
So I do think there are times when it is a logical business decision to take a slightly overpriced listing. Before taking an overpriced listing you need to ask yourself these questions though: are they motivated, is it a good property, and do you believe the sellers are reasonable enough to have reasonable conversations when needed?
For me, I had a standard. I did not want to list more than 10% above where I felt it needed to be. You have to decide your own standard and stick with it.
Once you have that listing, your next job is managing expectations, keeping communication strong, and preparing for the possibility of a listing price reduction if the market rejects the price.
Set Up the Price Reduction Conversation the Day You Take the Listing
Once the listing agreement is signed, the seller sees you differently. They are no longer deciding whether to hire you. They have hired you. That is the moment to set the tone.
This is where I would say something like this:
“I’m very excited to get your home on the market and get it sold to the right buyer. I cannot promise you that the right buyer will pay the exact price we’ve listed for today, because none of us can predict the market. But what I can promise you is my extreme effort to market this in every possible way and leave no stone unturned. When the home sells for more, you earn more, and so do I. So I want you to know I am going to fight for this price.”
Sellers do not want to hear, “We can try it.” To them, that sounds weak. It sounds like you are going to make a half-hearted attempt and then quickly come back asking for a listing price reduction.
You want the seller to know you are their partner. You are their champion. You are going to do everything you can. But you also want permission to tell them the truth.
So I would ask:
“Do I have your permission to always tell you the truth and give you the facts straight up so you can make the right decisions?”
That question is powerful. Later, if you need a price reduction, you can remind them that you promised to tell the truth and they gave you permission to do it.
Set Expectations Before the Seller Starts Panicking
I was in the car with my husband one night when he got a call from sellers whose home had only had three showings in the first week and no offers. They were upset. Their neighbor had sold quickly with multiple offers just a few months earlier.
But their neighbor’s house was smaller and cheaper.
When he got off the phone, I told him he had not set expectations well enough. He should have explained that at their price point there were fewer buyers. He should have talked through what was realistic in terms of showings in this market. Because if you do not give sellers expectations, they create their own.
That is why I believe every listing needs a, “setting the expectation conversation.” A price reduction becomes easier when the seller already understands how many showings are likely, what accessibility needs to look like, what condition the home needs to be in, and how the two of you are going to work together.
This is also the time to talk about repairs, home prep, launch timing, and support vendors if needed. Spend the extra 20 minutes. Set the stage.
Be Careful With the Net Sheet
I do like net sheets, but be careful with them.
If you give a seller a net sheet based on the list price, that number can become the number they lock onto. Then every future conversation gets harder.
So if you do a net sheet, I suggest doing it at what you believe is a worst-case scenario. If the home is listed at $500,000, you may say, “Let’s look at what this would look like if offers came in lower.” That way, the seller can privately discuss where they would need to counter to be in an acceptable range.
Why do that? Because later, if an offer comes in above that worst-case number, you can say, “Great news. This offer nets you more than what we prepared for.”
Create a Communication Plan and Set Boundaries
You want sellers to know how often they will hear from you, what reports you will send, and what communication will look like.
Then you can ask them a very important question:
“For you to feel like this has been a 5-star experience, will this communication plan be enough for you, or is there something more you need from me?”
That question lets you adjust to them. One seller may want emails during the day. Another may only want a call on Tuesday evenings. You do not want to annoy them by forcing your pattern on them.
And while we are on the subject, please do not train your sellers to believe you are available 24 hours a day.
My daughter took a listing and answered a seller’s call after midnight because she was so excited about those early listings and wanted to do everything right. I told her, “Oh boy. Now she is always going to call you late at night.” And that is exactly what happened.
Set boundaries. Set your available times. A good communication plan will make a price reduction conversation easier because the seller feels secure and informed instead of anxious and reactive.
Use Days on Market to Lead the Price Reduction
Sellers may say they are not in a hurry, and that is fine. But days on market are visible to everyone. As those days stack up, buyers start asking questions. Why has no one else bought it? Is something wrong with it? Is the seller difficult? Is the seller getting desperate?
If the home is not sold in two weeks, review activity and feedback. You can get together by phone, Zoom, or in person. If the seller is not ready to make changes at two weeks, then no later than 21 days in, you need to be serious about it.
That is the line in the sand.
A scheduled listing price reduction review takes emotion out of it. It turns the conversation into a process instead of a surprise.
Make the Price Reduction Count
Over the years, I have heard agents accept tiny little reductions, and I just do not think that works. A small listing price reduction usually only delays the real decision.
If the property is getting activity but no offers, it is probably at least 5% too high. If it is dead in the water with no activity, it is probably 10% too high.
When a seller offers a tiny price reduction, thank them for being willing to cooperate. Then tell them that if we were that close to the right number, we probably would already have offers.
If I believe the right move is 5%, I do not want less than 3%. If I believe the right move is 10%, I do not want less than 7%.
Most sellers are only going to tolerate two, maybe three, rounds of a price reduction before they start losing their patience and wanting to blame you. So if you are going to do a Price Reduction, make it count.
If They Refuse the Price Reduction, Ask for Something Else
Now, what if they will not make a price reduction at all?
Then they need to do something.
Maybe they need to improve the property. Maybe they need staging. Maybe they need better accessibility. Maybe they need to extend the listing. Maybe they need to commit to a future date when they will reconsider a price reduction.
If a seller wants to hold out for their number after 60 days with no offer, you can be patient if they are patient. But I would suggest asking for something in return. I would ask them to extend the listing term back to the original length so you have time to keep working and try to get it sold at that price.
Your Mindset Changes Everything
Before you make the call, think through what you are going to say. Practice it if you need to. Be empathetic, yes. Kind, yes. But do not apologize for what the market is saying.
You did not paint the house bright blue. You did not choose the location that backs to the freeway. You do not control the market.
So do not apologize.
A price reduction is not punishment. A price reduction is not failure. A price reduction is your recommendation based on the facts in front of you.
That is why studying your market is so important. When you know the market well, you speak with more confidence. And if there are parts of this that trip you up, write them down. What objections do you hear most often? What part of the price reduction conversation feels hardest for you? Then go work on those pieces until they get easier.
Because here is the good news: the faces change, the markets change, but this process really does not. The objections will sound familiar over and over again. So when you identify the parts that challenge you, you can keep improving them.
At the end of the day, your job is to be the professional. Get your facts together. Think through your language. Practice if you need to. Remind yourself that you are there to tell the truth with care.
And then go have the conversation.
