Thinking about selling your home? Before you list, there’s one major mistake you’ll want to avoid—one that’s becoming more common and can seriously impact how quickly (and how profitably) your home sells. This isn’t just about bad timing or outdated kitchens. It’s something much simpler—but much more dangerous: overpricing.
With the housing market shifting, sellers across the country are walking into their listings with sky-high expectations. Fueled by past sales, pandemic-era bidding wars, and emotional attachments, many believe their homes are worth more than what today’s buyers are willing to pay.
The result?
Homes are sitting, price cuts are becoming the norm, and sellers are left frustrated. Let’s break down why overpricing is such a costly mistake—and what you can do to avoid it.
Sellers Are Entering the Market With Unrealistic Expectations
Across the U.S., more and more sellers are entering the market believing they’ll get top dollar—or more—for their home. According to a recent Realtor.com report, this confidence isn’t matching up with reality. Buyers are becoming more cautious, especially as mortgage rates remain elevated, and they’re not as quick to bite on overpriced listings.
In April 2025, the number of listings with price reductions hit a multi-year high. That means a growing number of homes are hitting the market too high and being forced to drop their asking price just to attract attention. These price cuts are happening across nearly every state, with the trend especially strong in the South and West.
Still, despite the warning signs, 81% of sellers in a recent Realtor.com survey said they expected to get their asking price—or even more. That disconnect between seller expectations and buyer behavior is a recipe for trouble. As Danielle Hale, Chief Economist at Realtor.com, explains, “The rising share of price reductions suggests that a lot of sellers are anchored to prices that aren’t realistic in today’s housing market.”
Simply put, if you want your home to sell, your price needs to reflect the current market—not the one from two years ago. The key is listening to the market and adjusting accordingly, rather than holding out for a price buyers won’t pay.
What’s Causing the Disconnect?
A big part of the pricing problem comes from the emotional and financial mindset many sellers bring to the table. If you bought your home during the pandemic boom, you likely watched values climb quickly. Bidding wars were the norm, and every sale seemed to break a new record. That kind of environment created lasting expectations—even though today’s market has changed dramatically.
Now, many regions are seeing prices flatten or even soften. Yet sellers still believe cosmetic upgrades like fresh paint, new light fixtures, or updated landscaping are justification for a significant price increase. But the reality? Not every update adds real value.
As real estate expert Toni Zarghami of Keller Williams puts it: “They very much think that their property is better than everyone else’s. On HGTV, when you landscape and paint… you just added 20 grand to your list, right? But that’s just not the way that our market is.” And she’s right. Big-ticket items like pools, location-based features like lakefront access, or a full kitchen remodel might add value—but minor upgrades rarely do.
Understanding what truly influences a home’s value—and what doesn’t—is essential. Your pricing strategy should be built on hard data: recent comparable sales, buyer behavior, and current demand—not how much you’ve spent or how much you love your home.
Read More: Zillow Predicts a 2% Home Price Dip in 2025: What It Means for Buyers and Sellers
The Danger of a Stale Listing
When a home is priced too high, it often sits on the market longer than it should. And the longer a home stays listed, the harder it becomes to sell. Real estate agents call this problem a “stale listing.” It raises red flags for buyers, who begin to wonder what’s wrong with the property—why hasn’t anyone bought it?
According to Wayne Curtis, a Sotheby’s Realty agent, “Once the days on market start to climb, the general question out there will become ‘what’s wrong with it?’ That is not something [sellers] want attached to their property.” And those days on market are climbing. Nationally, homes recently averaged 50 days on the market—four days longer than this time last year and the highest for April since 2020.
The longer your home sits, the more it works against you. You may be forced to lower your price multiple times just to attract attention. And even then, buyers might offer less, assuming you’re desperate to sell or that the home has hidden issues.
As Florida agent Brian Stephens puts it: “If you overprice your home, it’s going to sit on the market, and it’s going to get stale, and then you’re going to be chasing the price down to what the market’s willing to pay for it.” In some cases, agents will even walk away from listings where the seller’s expectations are just too far from reality.
Lessons From Real Sellers
If you want to see what overpricing looks like in the real world, just browse a few real estate forums. You’ll find countless stories from sellers who regret not listening to their agents or the market. One user shared, “I’m a seller who overpriced my home and learned the hard way… I originally priced it way too high—about $100K above breakeven—because I had unrealistic expectations.”
Another wrote: “My husband dismissed all three agents’ recommendations. He insisted our house was worth 25% more… I just want it sold, but I can’t talk any sense into him.” That kind of emotional attachment can be costly—not just financially, but in time, stress, and lost opportunities.
And then there’s the buyer’s perspective: “I offered a price lower than what they were asking but similar to other homes in their neighborhood… Not only did they deny my offer, but their agent made a snobby remark to mine like ‘how dare you offer lower.’ Four months later, they sold the house for the exact same price I had offered. Lol.”
These stories all point to the same truth: pricing your home based on emotion, rather than data, rarely ends well. If you want a smooth sale, be willing to look at your home through a buyer’s eyes—and accept what the market is telling you.
Smart Pricing: The Best Strategy for Today’s Sellers
The good news? Pricing your home realistically doesn’t mean leaving money on the table. In fact, homes that are priced right from the start often sell faster—and for more money—than those that start too high and get discounted over time.
The key is working with an experienced agent who knows your local market. They’ll run a comparative market analysis (CMA) to show you what similar homes have sold for, how long they were on the market, and what buyers are responding to.
Trust the data. Be open to feedback. And don’t get discouraged if the number isn’t quite what you were hoping for. Even with a modest price, you’re likely still walking away with a strong return—especially if you’ve owned your home for a few years or more.
In today’s market, smart sellers focus on strategy—not sentiment. By setting a fair, market-driven price from the beginning, you’ll save yourself time, stress, and potentially thousands of dollars. And most importantly—you’ll get your home sold.
Read More: Is the Market About to Stall Out? Breaking Down Zillow, Bankrate & NAR Reports
