The First Thing To Do Before Listing Your Home

The Listings Most Sellers Never Ask to See

Every time a new housing report comes out, one or two numbers dominate the conversation.

This time, many headlines focused on the percentage of homes selling above asking price.

That statistic certainly tells part of the story.

But another number stood out to me even more.

According to recent Redfin data, roughly one in five sellers reduced their asking price before their home sold.

At first glance, that may not seem like the most exciting statistic. In reality, it is one of the most useful numbers for anyone planning to sell a home within the next year.

Because it highlights something that many sellers overlook.

The homes that struggled often have just as much to teach us as the homes that sold immediately.

The Market Is Not Just the Success Stories

When homeowners want to know what their property is worth, they usually ask to see comparable sales.

That makes sense.

Recent sales show what buyers have been willing to pay.

But there is another group of homes that deserves just as much attention.

The listings that sat on the market.

The homes that needed multiple price reductions.

The properties that expired without selling.

Those listings provide valuable insight into what today's buyers are unwilling to pay for and where sellers may have misread the market.

Sometimes the issue was price.

Sometimes it was presentation.

Sometimes a home simply entered the market at the wrong time or faced stronger competition than expected.

Looking only at successful sales tells half the story.

Looking at unsuccessful listings helps explain why those successful sales happened.

Price Reductions Are Usually a Symptom

Many people see a price reduction as the problem.

Often, it is simply the result of another issue.

A home may have entered the market above where buyers perceived its value.

It may have been compared against stronger competing homes.

Or it may have been positioned based on what the seller hoped to receive instead of how buyers were actually shopping.

Once a listing loses momentum, sellers often find themselves reacting to the market instead of leading it.

That does not mean every price reduction was avoidable.

Markets change.

Interest rates move.

New competition enters the market.

But understanding why other sellers had to adjust their pricing can help you avoid making the same mistakes.

Ask to See the Homes That Didn't Sell

If you expect to move within the next year, here is one question I recommend asking when you receive a comparative market analysis.

"Can you also show me the homes that didn't sell?"

Not just the recent sales.

Not just the highest prices.

Show me the listings that expired.

Show me the homes that sat on the market for weeks before reducing their price.

Show me the properties buyers ignored.

Those homes often reveal where the market drew the line.

They can tell you what buyers considered overpriced, what features mattered most, how long similar homes took to sell, and how pricing strategy affected the outcome.

Sometimes the most valuable lesson in real estate comes from the listing that never made it to the closing table.

The Bottom Line

Every seller wants to know what the highest-priced homes sold for.

That information is important.

But if your goal is to price strategically from day one, the homes that struggled may provide even more valuable insight.

I pay close attention to both.

Because understanding what worked is helpful.

Understanding what didn't often helps you make even better decisions.