“Why do we not price the property a little higher and leave ourselves room to negotiate?”

It is a reasonable question and one that many sellers ask as they prepare to list their property.

The thinking is understandable, if the seller wants a certain amount, why not begin at a higher price? A buyer can always make an offer, and the parties can negotiate toward the seller’s preferred number.

In theory, this approach appears to protect the seller. In practice, however, an asking price that is not supported by the market can reduce early interest, increase the time required to sell and, in the end, weaken the seller’s negotiating position.

A higher asking price may create room on paper, but it does not necessarily create leverage.

Buyers Do Not Always Make an Offer

Sellers sometimes assume that if buyers believe a property is priced too high, they will simply submit a lower offer.

Some will. Many will not.

Buyers compare the property with every other suitable home available within their price range. If another property offers better condition, location, features or overall value, they may choose that home without ever attempting to negotiate on the more expensive one.

In that situation, the seller does not receive an offer that can be countered. They simply lose a potential buyer, often without knowing why.

Price also determines where a property appears in online searches. A home priced above an important search threshold may not be seen by the buyers most likely to purchase it. At the same time, it may be compared with more expensive homes offering features it cannot match.

An overpriced listing can make a competing properly priced property appear even more attractive. In effect, it may help sell someone else’s home before it sells its own.

Price is more than the amount written on the listing, it determines how the property is positioned against its competition.

The First Few Weeks Matter

A new listing normally receives its greatest attention when it first enters the market. Buyers who have been actively searching will notice it, REALTORS® will share it with qualified clients, and online alerts will introduce it to everyone whose criteria it matches.

At any given time, some buyers are sitting on the sidelines because none of the properties currently available meet their needs. They continue watching and waiting for the right new listing to appear.

Capturing the attention of these existing, motivated buyers when a property first enters the market is crucial. If that opportunity is missed, the seller may have to wait for new buyers to enter the market.

This is the seller’s strongest opportunity to create interest.

If the property is priced appropriately, several buyers may want to view it within a relatively short period. That activity can create urgency and improve the seller’s negotiating position.

If it is priced too high, many buyers may decide to wait, choose another property or disregard it entirely. By the time the price is reduced, the listing is no longer new. Buyers may begin wondering why it has not sold, whether other buyers discovered a problem or whether the seller will reduce the price again.

A price reduction can reposition a property, but it does not always recreate the attention and excitement that existed when the listing first appeared.

What Do Recent Greater Moncton Sales Tell Us?

I recently reviewed a sample of 68 detached single-dwelling properties reported sold across Moncton, Dieppe and Riverview during October 2026, as of October 28.

Of those 68 sales:

• 59 properties, or approximately 87%, sold below their reported asking price.
• Two sold at asking price.
• Seven sold above asking price.
• The median asking price was $419,950.
• The median selling price was $410,000.
• The median selling price represented approximately 98% of the asking price.
• The median time on the market was 48 days.

The relationship between time and the final result was particularly interesting.

Twenty-four of the properties sold within 30 days. Seven of those 24 achieved asking price or more. By comparison, 44 properties took more than 30 days to sell, and 42 of them eventually sold below asking price. Six of the seven properties that sold above asking price did so within their first 30 days on the market.

The median sale-to-list ratio also declined as market time increased. Properties selling within 30 days achieved a median of approximately 98.3% of asking price, compared with approximately 96.5% for those taking more than 90 days to sell.

This is a limited, month-to-date sample, and every property and transaction is different. Condition, presentation, location, marketing, showing accessibility, financing and negotiated terms can all affect the result.

The figures nevertheless illustrate an important principle: properties that attract buyers early tend to place their sellers in a stronger negotiating position. As time passes and buyer interest declines, that position can become weaker.

Negotiating Room Is Not the Same as Negotiating Strength

Adding an arbitrary amount to the asking price may create mathematical room to negotiate, but it does not necessarily create leverage. Negotiating leverage comes from buyer interest.

A seller is in the strongest position when buyers believe the property represents good value and are concerned that someone else may purchase it. A seller is in a weaker position when the home has been available for an extended period, showings have slowed and buyers believe there is little competition.

After a listing has spent considerable time on the market, an interested buyer may wonder:

• Why has the property not sold?
• Have other buyers discovered a problem?
• Is the seller becoming more motivated?
• Will the price be reduced again?
• How much below asking might the seller now accept?

Instead of protecting the seller, the higher starting price may eventually give the buyer greater confidence to negotiate aggressively.

The Greater Risk May Be Not Selling

The risk of pricing too high is not limited to eventually accepting less than the original asking price. The greater risk may be reaching the end of the listing period without selling at all.

I also reviewed 16 detached single-dwelling properties across Moncton, Dieppe and Riverview that had expired during the same period. Although this was a smaller sample, the comparison was revealing.

The median asking price of the expired properties was $469,450, compared with $419,950 for the properties that sold, a difference of $49,500. The median asking price per square foot was also approximately 6% higher.

The most striking difference was time.

The median sold property had been on the market for 48 days. The median expired property had accumulated 109 days on the market. Thirteen of the 16 expired properties had been available for more than 90 days, and five had reached at least 180 days. None of the expired properties had been on the market for fewer than 30 days.

These figures do not prove that price alone caused every listing to expire. However, the figures demonstrate that simply remaining on the market does not guarantee that the right buyer will eventually appear.

A seller may begin with a higher price believing there will be plenty of room to negotiate. If that price discourages early interest, however, no negotiation takes place. Instead, the property can accumulate market time, lose its initial momentum and eventually expire without a sale.

Strategic Pricing Does Not Mean Pricing Low

The alternative to overpricing is not automatically underpricing.

The objective is to establish a price that can be reasonably supported by recent sales, competing listings, expired listings, the property’s condition and the realities of the current market.

The home does not need to be the least expensive option, but it must justify its price when buyers compare it with the available alternatives.

There may be situations in which a seller chooses a more aggressive pricing strategy to encourage greater activity. There may also be unique properties for which determining value is more complex. No single pricing method is appropriate for every home.

What matters is that the asking price forms part of a deliberate strategy rather than being based on the assumption that buyers will be motivated to negotiate.

The Market Continues to Provide Feedback

Once the property is listed, the pricing discussion should not end.

Showing activity, buyer comments, new and competing listings, new sales and the passage of time all provide information. That information must be reviewed with the seller on an ongoing basis.

A property receiving many showings but no offers may have a different challenge from one receiving almost no showings. The first may raise questions about condition, presentation or how the home compares when viewed in person. The second may indicate that buyers do not see sufficient value to schedule a viewing.

Not every comment requires a price change. However, patterns should not be ignored. The longer a property remains available without serious interest, the more important it becomes to honestly reassess its position.

The market may not always tell us exactly what needs to change, but it will normally tell us when the current strategy is not producing the desired result.

Price to Create Interest, Not Simply Room

A seller’s objective should not be to begin with the highest price the market might possibly tolerate. It should be to position the property so that qualified buyers recognize its value and are motivated to act.

Pricing strategically does not mean giving the property away. It means using the asking price to maximize interest, encourage serious offers and strengthen the seller’s position when negotiations begin.

The strongest negotiations often begin before an offer is written. They begin with a price and strategy that attract interest, create competition and give the seller meaningful options.

If you are considering selling your property, contact any of our EXIT Realty Associates professionals. They can help you assess your property’s value, study the sold and expired competition, and develop a pricing strategy designed to maximize both buyer interest and your negotiating position.