Three Ways to Price Your Home — and What the

Numbers Say About Each

Pricing a home is the single biggest lever you control as a seller. Get it right and you can spark a

bidding war; get it wrong and your listing can sit for months while buyers watch the days-on-market

counter climb. Here's how the three main pricing strategies actually play out, backed by current

market data.

1. Under Market Value: Pricing for Multiple Offers

Listing below market value is a deliberate strategy to create urgency and competition. When priced

right, a slightly-under-market listing draws a wave of interest fast — which is exactly what this strategy

is built on.

According to NAR's May 2026 REALTORS® Confidence Index, homes listed nationally received an

average of 2.3 offers, and 25% of homes sold above list price. Contracts typically closed in 30 days.

Pricing under market is one of the more reliable ways to generate that kind of competition and land in

that above-list-price group.

The tradeoff: this strategy depends on a competitive market. That 25% above-list share is down from

28% a year ago, and the average offer count has eased from 2.5 — a sign this tactic works best

where buyer demand is still strong, and less reliably as the market cools.

2. At Market Value: Matching the Estimated Days on Market

Pricing at true market value means anchoring to what similar homes in your area are actually taking

to sell — the estimated days on market for your neighborhood — and pricing accordingly from day

one.

This is the steadiest path. Homes priced accurately draw serious buyers immediately, avoid the

stigma of a stale listing, and typically sell close to list price. Per Zillow's research on listing prices,

homes that sell quickly after listing have final sale prices only about 1% below list price on average —

a gap that widens the longer a home sits unsold. Pricing at market value is the strategy most likely to

keep you in that range instead of falling into a steeper discount later.

3. Over Market Value: Hoping for a Strong Offer

Pricing above market value — testing the waters for a buyer willing to pay a premium — is the

costliest strategy when it doesn't pay off, and the numbers are stark, both locally and nationally.

Right here in the Portland Metro Area, RMLS data from March 2026 shows homes that sold within

0–30 days on market averaged 105% of list price, while homes that sat for 30+ days averaged just

94% of list price. On an average sale price of $628,280, that gap works out to a $72,059 difference —or roughly $2,402 in lost value for every extra day a listing sits on the market. Portland specifically

ranked among the top 10 U.S. metros for repeat price cuts as of January 2026, with 16.6% of active

local listings having been reduced three or more times, according to a realtor.com analysis cited by

the National Association of REALTORS®.

Nationally, NAR reports that about 18% of existing-home listings had a price discount as of late 2025,

and nearly 11% of active listings had taken at least three price cuts by January 2026. Real estate

professionals interviewed by NAR note that a price reduction in the 2–5% range is typically what it

takes to reactivate buyer interest and generate new showings — and that pricing a home 3–5% below

the most recent comparable sale from the start can be the difference between zero showings and

multiple offers.

Zillow's research on listing prices backs this up at the transaction level: homes that linger on the

market tend to sell for meaningfully less than their asking price — about 5% less after two months on

market — and homes that eventually sell 10% below list price spend five times as long on the market

as homes that sell at list price.

The takeaway real estate pros keep repeating: a home sitting for 60-plus days doesn't usually mean

something's wrong with the property. It's most often a sign of early overpricing or poor timing — and

even pricing just 3–5% above market tends to mean a longer wait and a deeper eventual cut.

The Bottom Line

The data points in one direction: strategic, accurate pricing from day one consistently outperforms

pricing high and hoping. Under-market pricing can work well in a competitive market to spark multiple

offers. At-market pricing is the steadiest bet in most conditions. Over-market pricing carries the

highest risk — longer time on market, a bigger eventual discount, and a real chance the home never

gets the offer it was hoping for.

If you're weighing which strategy fits your home and your local market conditions, let's look at the

comparable sales and current days-on-market data for your specific neighborhood before you list.

Sources: National Association of REALTORS® (REALTORS® Confidence Index, May 2026; “Home Price Cuts

Are Growing as Buyers Gain More Negotiating Power,” Feb. 2026; “Listing Price Reduction? How to Navigate It

With Buyers, Sellers,” Aug. 2025) — nar.realtor · Zillow Research, “The Price of Overpricing: How Listing Price

Impacts Time on Market” — zillow.com/research · RMLS, Portland Metro Area, March 2026