Why Overpricing Your Home Costs You More Than Underpricing It

This is the conversation I have with almost every seller I work with, and it's usually the hardest one. Because the instinct to price high makes complete sense. It's your home. You've put money into it. You want to leave room to negotiate. I get it.

But here's what actually happens.

The First Week Is Everything

When your home hits the market, you get one window of real attention. Buyers who have been waiting, watching, setting up alerts, they all see it at the same time. That first week is the most traffic your listing will ever get. If the price is right, you get offers. If it's not, you get silence.

And silence is expensive.

What Happens When You Overprice

After two weeks with no offers, you reduce. The problem is that reduction is public. Every buyer and every agent can see it. And the question immediately becomes, why did they reduce? What's wrong with it? Even if the answer is nothing, the perception shifts. You've gone from a desirable home to a home that didn't sell.

Days on market start accumulating and in the San Fernando Valley, once you're past 30 days, buyers start expecting a discount just for the inconvenience of it sitting there.

I've watched sellers who insisted on pricing $200,000 over market eventually sell for less than they would have gotten on day one. The math never works in your favour.

The Underpricing Question

Intentional underpricing is a different strategy and in the right market it works. Price slightly below comparable sales, create competition, let multiple offers drive the price up. I've seen this work extremely well in Studio City and Sherman Oaks on well-presented homes with broad appeal.

It requires confidence and the right market conditions. But it's a real tool, not a gamble.

The Honest Answer

The best price is the one that reflects what comparable homes have actually sold for in the last 90 days, on your street, in your condition. Not what you need. Not what your neighbour got two years ago. Not what Zillow says.

If you're thinking about selling in Sherman Oaks, Studio City, Encino or anywhere in the Valley, I'm happy to walk you through what the market is actually doing right now.

Anj Catalano · The Agency · 310 404 6955 · hello@anjinla.com

Pasting that in while I write number 2?