The question
Should I list my Long Island home high and come down later?
The short answer
No. Overpricing usually costs you more than it gets you. The right price on day one brings the most buyers in the first two weeks, when interest is highest, and that is where the strongest offers come from.
The long answer
Some agents win listings by promising the highest price in the room. It feels great at the kitchen table. Then the house sits, the showings dry up, and six weeks later the conversation is about a price cut instead of offers.
What overpricing actually costs you
- Your best buyers see the home in the first two weeks. If the price is wrong then, they move on and rarely come back.
- Days on market become a story buyers tell themselves: "What is wrong with it?"
- The eventual price reduction often lands you below where the right price would have started.
How I set a price
I start with what similar homes near you actually sold for, not what they were listed at. Then I walk through your home, room by room, and adjust for condition, updates, lot and street. You get a range and the reasoning behind every number.
The tough love part
If your kitchen is from 1987, I will say so, and I will tell you whether it is worth updating or better priced in. If your neighbor's house sold for more, I will explain exactly why. You deserve straight answers, because it is your money.
