Pricing a home correctly is critical in this market. A home that is priced too high will on the market for months and may get no offers. In contrast, a home that is priced "right" for the market generally will sell fairly quickly. Furthermore, getting the price right matters way more for higher priced homes than it matters for lower priced homes. The following two tables make this point dramatically.

 

Homes that sold for up to $300,000

	Priced right for the market	Priced high for the market
Number of homes sold	36	43
Average list price	$245,000	$282,000
Average selling price	$240,000	$243,000
Sale price to list price %	98%	86%
Average price reduction	$5,000	$39,000
Average days on market	37	170

Notice the average days on the market: 37 when priced "right"; 170 when priced "high". Think of the carrying cost for 170 days compared to 37 days.

Also notice the sale price was on average $5000 less than the list price when priced "right"; $39,000 when priced "high".

Homes that sold for $500,000 and above

	Priced right for the market	Priced high for the market
Number of homes sold	13	20
Average list price	$658,000	$912,000
Average selling price	$636,000	$745,000
Sale price to list price %	97%	82%
Average price reduction	$22,000	$167,000
Average days on market	40	267