What If I Leave Money On The Table?
It's the question almost every seller asks me at some point. What if I price it too low and miss out on money that was there for the taking? It's a fair worry. But after 18+ years of doing this, I can tell you the sellers who actually lose money aren't usually the ones who priced a little conservatively. They're the ones who chased the highest possible number and paid for it later. Here's why. The first two weeks a home is on the market get more buyer attention than it will ever get again. Everyone who's been watching your area, everyone with a saved search, everyone working with an agent gets notified the day you list. That's your peak audience, and it only shows up once. If the price doesn't match what buyers see when they walk through the home, most of them won't negotiate. They'll just skip it and look at something else. Showings slow down and weeks pass. Eventually the price gets reduced, but by then some buyers assume something's wrong with the house and the growing "days on market" number is working against you instead of for you. A home that started high and got reduced once or twice often nets less in the end than one that was priced right from day one and sold inside that first push of interest so pricing low isn't the answer either. A proper comparative market analysis looks at what buyers have actually paid for comparable homes recently, not what other sellers are hoping to get. That's the number that holds up. In the Greater Edmonton Area, well-priced homes have been selling in around 35 days on average this year, based on RAE market statistics. That number shifts by price point and neighbourhood, which is exactly why a CMA built for your specific home tells you more than a general market headline ever could.There's a second way sellers leave money on the table, and it has nothing to do with the list price. It's what happens once an offer comes in. Financing conditions, inspection clauses, closing dates, what's included in the sale. Those details get negotiated too, and a seller working without solid representation can end up giving away more there than they ever saved on a lower commission. If you want a sense of what that representation should actually look like, I wrote about the questions worth asking before you hire a REALTOR ®.If you're wondering what your home is realistically worth right now, that's exactly what a free home evaluation is for. I'll walk you through recent sales in your area, where things are heading, and what a strong, defensible list price looks like for your specific home, not just a number pulled from a headline Market data: REALTORS® Association of Edmonton, current as of August 2026.Brenda Patton, REALTOR® | Homes & Gardens Real Estate Ltd. 780-297-8437 | brendarpatton.com
