What happens if I price my property too high?
Short answer: It does not pay to let a property sit on the market at a high price if nobody is asking about it. A long time on the market works against you: people see that the property has been listed for a while and start to assume there must be something wrong with it if it hasn’t sold. If the price is too high, the property has been advertised and no enquiries come in within two weeks, it pays to take it off the market for 3–7 days and then relist it at a lower price. How much the price needs to come down depends on the asking price and the valuation, and is decided together with the fasteignasali (the licensed real estate agent).
Why is a long time on the market damaging?
On the property market, time is information. Buyers can see how long a property has been listed, and they draw a conclusion from it – usually the same one: if this property has been on the market for months and nobody has bought it, there must be something wrong with it.
It doesn’t matter whether that is true. The effect is the same:
- Interest fades. A new listing gets attention. An old listing does not get it back.
- You lose the best window. The strongest enquiries come in the first days and weeks, while the property is new and visible.
- Your negotiating position weakens. A buyer who knows the property has been sitting offers less – and knows you are more likely to accept.
- Suspicion of defects. People start looking for the reason the property isn’t selling instead of looking at its strengths.
What was meant to deliver a higher price ends up delivering a lower one, and a longer wait.
The two-week rule: when should you act?
There is a simple benchmark that works: if the property has been advertised and no enquiries come in within two weeks, the price is too high.
Not few enquiries – none. When the market gives you nothing at all, it is telling you that the price sits outside the range people are willing to look at. Buyers search within a price bracket, and if you are above their bracket they simply never see the property.
The right response then is to take the property off the market and relist it at a lower price. The reason for the pause is that the property then comes back as a new listing rather than appearing as the same old property with a price reduction. You recover the attention a new listing gets.
How long should the pause be? The recommendation is to rest the property for 3–7 days before relisting. That is long enough for the listing to come back as new, but short enough that you don’t miss the buyers who are actively searching in those days.
How much should you come down?
There is no single right answer. How much of a reduction is needed depends on the property’s asking price and on the valuation that has been carried out – a reduction that is significant on one property is negligible on another. This is a decision to take together with the fasteignasali, who can see both what comparable properties have actually sold for and how the market has responded to your property.
One thing does hold generally, though: a reduction so small that it does not move the property into a new price bracket changes very little. Buyers search within a price bracket, and if the property remains above the bracket your target group is looking at, they still won’t see it.
Separate a price problem from a marketing problem
Before you cut the price, one thing needs to be clear: was the property actually advertised?
If the property was only listed on a property portal and never marketed in its own right, you don’t know whether the problem is the price or the visibility. It may simply be that too few people have seen it for any enquiry to come in, regardless of price.
That is why the order should be this:
- Correct pricing from the start.
- Professional photos and a good description.
- Real marketing – for example paid social media advertising, which Baldur fasteignasali specialises in, putting the property in front of people who were not actively searching.
- And then you can judge whether the silence is down to the price.
If all of that has been done and still no enquiries come in within two weeks, then the answer is the price.
In short
- Too high a price doesn’t deliver a higher sale price; it delivers a longer time on the market and a weaker negotiating position.
- Buyers see how long a property has been listed and assume something is wrong with it.
- No enquiries within two weeks of advertising is a clear sign that the price is too high.
- At that point it pays to take the property off the market for 3–7 days and relist it at a lower price.
- How much to come down depends on the asking price and the valuation, and should be decided together with the fasteignasali.
- Make sure the property has genuinely been marketed before you cut the price.
Frequently asked questions
Can’t I just start high and come down later? It is a common idea, but it costs you the best window. The greatest attention comes in the first days after listing, and if the price is too high then, that time is wasted. By the time you finally reduce, the property has become old on the market and the reduction generates less response than the right price would have from the start.
Will buyers notice if I lower the price? Price changes are visible and people do notice them, especially those who have been following the property. That is why it makes more sense to take the property off the market for 3–7 days and relist it at a new price than to keep cutting it in small steps.
Get in touch
If your property has been on the market without enquiries coming in, it is worth reviewing both the price and the marketing before you take the next step. Contact Baldur Jezorski, licensed real estate agent (löggiltur fasteignasali), on 450-0000 or send a message via 450.is for more information about an asking price that is set too high, revaluing the property and how it can be marketed afresh. Free and with no obligation.
Related articles
- How do I price my property correctly?
- Should I list my property without an asking price?
- How do I get a higher price for my property?
- How do over-asking bids work on the property market?
Thinking of selling? Get a free valuation from Baldur Jezorski, licensed real estate agent in Hafnarfjörður, reply within 24 hours.
Algengar spurningar
What happens if I price my property too high?
The property sits on the market without enquiries and buyers start to assume there is something wrong with it because it hasn't sold. That weakens your negotiating position and ends up delivering a lower price and a longer wait. If the property has been advertised and no enquiries come in within two weeks, it pays to take it off the market for 3 to 7 days and relist it at a lower price.
Can't I just start high and come down later?
It costs you the best window. The greatest attention comes in the first days after listing, and if the price is too high then, that time is wasted. By the time you finally reduce, the property has become old on the market and the reduction generates less response than the right price would have from the start.
Will buyers notice if I lower the price?
Price changes are visible and those who have been following the property notice them. It therefore makes more sense to take the property off the market for 3 to 7 days and relist it at a new price than to keep cutting it in small steps.