By Paul Domenech
If you’re thinking about putting your home on the market, let me give it to you straight: the old rules don’t apply anymore. Pricing is no longer about what your neighbor sold for last year or even last month — it’s about what’s active right now, what’s sitting and where the market is heading.
We’re in a shift. High inventory means more competition. More homes on the market = more pressure to stand out. And that means sellers need to take a “price is right” approach — not a “hope it works out” approach. Looking at past sales in today’s market is like trying to drive forward while staring in the rearview mirror. It’s not going to get you where you want to go.
The homes that are sitting are telling a story. Days on market are climbing. Price cuts are increasing. And when price reductions start showing up across the board, those past sales you’ve been banking on? They become irrelevant.
So how do you win?
You create separation — not participation.
Don’t list your home at the same price as everyone else and hope for the best. List where the market is going — not where it’s been. Price just ahead of the next wave of reductions, and you position your home as the deal buyers have been waiting for. You become the standout, not the one stuck waiting.
And let’s talk presentation. If you want to maximize your value, focus on the details buyers don’t want to deal with:
- Fresh paint
- Clean floors
- Pressure-washed exterior
- Fogged windows replaced
- Chipped paint handled
- Simple, neat landscaping
These aren’t major renovations — they’re high-impact touch-ups. Most buyers would rather roll that extra $10,000 into a 30-year mortgage than come out of pocket after closing. Make it easy for them to say yes.
Now, for the buyers who are sitting on the sidelines, waiting for interest rates to drop — I get it. But let’s be honest: what you’re really hoping for is that rates drop and everything else stays the same. That’s not how this works.
When rates drop, buyer demand goes up. Competition spikes. And guess what? Home prices usually follow.
So, while you might save a few hundred bucks a month on interest, you may be paying tens of thousands more on the house — and fighting to win the offer.
Here’s the truth: there’s never a perfect time to buy. Anyone who says they timed it perfectly is just lucky, or lying. But if you’re buying a home for your life, not just your portfolio — it’s never a bad time.
And if you want to find opportunity? Look at the homes that have been sitting. Be willing to do some work. That’s where the real value lives. Add your touch, build equity and move forward knowing you made a decision based on your reality — not someone else’s predictions.
Bottom line: Whether you’re buying or selling, this market rewards clarity, not hesitation.
Do the work. Make the move. Control what you can.
Because the tide is going out — and those who act with strategy and intention won’t get swept away.
What to talk more about the sale or purchase of a home reach out to your HOMEboy at Itspauly.com.
We’ll never sell you anything — we just tell you the truth with a system that sells. Let’s get to work.
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