Every so often a seller asks me if we can list a little higher than what the numbers support, just to see what happens. I get why. It feels like there's no downside. Worst case, we lower it later, right?

Here's what I've actually been seeing on the ground the last little while, and it's worth talking about honestly.

Overpriced Listings Aren't Getting Lowball Offers, They're Getting Silence

In this market, when a home is priced above where the data says it should be, we're not getting the lowball offers you'd expect. We're getting nothing. No offers at all. Buyers today are informed. They're watching the same market update emails I send out every month, they're comparing recent sales down the street, and if a home feels overpriced, they simply scroll past it rather than submit a number and negotiate. There's no back and forth to have because there's no conversation started in the first place.

That silence is actually more expensive than a lowball offer would be. A lowball at least gives us something to work with. Silence just means the listing sits. And the longer it sits, the more it picks up a reputation. Buyers and agents both notice a days-on-market number climbing, and it starts to raise questions before anyone's even walked through the front door. Was there a jump in taxes? Something in the inspection scare people off? Nothing changed, it was just priced high, but by the time we correct it, we've lost the momentum that the first two to three weeks on market usually give a well-priced home.

The Adjustment Ends Up Lower Than Where We Started

So what happens next is the part that stings a bit. We end up adjusting the price down, sometimes below where I would have recommended starting, because now we're not just correcting for the original overpricing, we're also correcting for the stigma of sitting unsold. The seller ends up in a weaker spot than if we'd priced it accurately from day one.

I say all this not to be the bearer of bad news, but because I'd rather you hear the real picture from me upfront than learn it the hard way partway through a listing. Pricing a home isn't about picking a number that feels good. It's about reading what buyers in our market are actually willing to pay right now, based on recent, comparable sales, not last year's numbers or a neighbour's asking price from six months ago.

What This Means for Sellers in London and St. Thomas Right Now

Right now, in London and St. Thomas, we're in more of a buyers' market than we've seen in a while. That doesn't mean homes aren't selling. It means pricing strategy matters more than it did a couple of years ago, when almost anything would move quickly regardless of number. Buyers have options, they're patient, and they're doing their homework. A home priced accurately from the start still generates activity and often still gets multiple showings in the first couple weeks. A home priced to "test the market" often just tests the seller's patience instead.

And if you know anyone who's on the fence about listing and wondering whether now's the right time, I'm always happy to have a no pressure conversation with them too.