Why “Testing the Market” Can Cost You Thousands

by Anna Hopkins

Why “Testing the Market” Can Cost You Thousands

If I had a dollar for every time a seller said, “Let’s list a little higher and see what happens,” I could probably buy another house myself.

It sounds harmless, right? You want to give yourself a little wiggle room, see if someone bites, maybe come down later if needed.

But here’s the truth: in today’s market, “testing the waters” often turns into chasing the market down.

What Actually Happens When You “Test” the Market

You list high.
Showings are slow.
Feedback trickles in — “We liked it, but…”
Then you reduce.
And reduce again.

By the time your price catches up to where it should’ve been, your listing has lost the one thing that matters most — momentum.

Buyers notice how long a home’s been on the market. Once it sits for a while or shows multiple price reductions, they assume there’s room to negotiate — or that something’s wrong with it. That perception alone can cost you thousands.

Why Pricing Right from Day One Matters

The first few weeks on market are when your home gets the most attention. That’s when it’s new, fresh, and showing up in every buyer’s search.

When a home is priced correctly from the start, it creates urgency.
Urgency brings traffic.
Traffic brings offers.

And offers — even multiple offers — build leverage.

Homes that sell quickly often sell for more, not less, because competition drives value. The longer a home sits, the more leverage shifts to the buyer’s side.

What “Pricing Right” Actually Means

Pricing right doesn’t mean underpricing.
It means knowing how today’s buyers are thinking — and where the line is between “That’s interesting” and “That’s overpriced.”

It’s not just about what sold last month.
It’s about what’s sitting right now — and why.

If a nearly identical home down the street is still on the market at a lower price, that’s a clue. Buyers already said no to that one. Pricing above it likely means they’ll say no to yours too.