Is there a magical number when it comes to how to price a listing? Spoiler alert: there isn’t. But there is a way to walk into every listing appointment confident, prepared, and ready to have a real conversation about price with your sellers.
In this episode, we are finally tackling the how-to of pricing a listing. We have danced around it before, but today we are getting into the actual nuts and bolts of how we prep, what we bring, what we say, and how we guide sellers through one of the most important (and emotional) parts of the listing process.
We are sharing the exact questions we ask on that first call, how we prep our CMAs, the talking points we lean on every single time, and the framework that has never failed us: price, location, and condition. We also dig into the pricing pyramid, the buyer pool conversation, and why the data has to drive every decision, even when sellers want a number that the data just does not support.
Plus, Alissa shares a vulnerable “I made a mistake” moment about a CMA mix-up after the MLS merged. It is a great reminder that even seasoned Realtors have to slow down and double-check their work. Learning how to price a listing is a lifelong skill, not a one-and-done lesson.
Here’s what we cover in this episode:
- The questions we ask on the very first seller call
- How we prep before walking into a listing appointment
- Why we never give a price before we see the house in person
- How to use the CMA summary as a collaborative tool with sellers
- Why price per square foot is a guide, not a rule
- The three components of every listing: price, location, and condition
- The pricing pyramid and how it impacts your buyer pool
- What to say when sellers want a number the data does not support
- How to handle the “how did you come up with this price?” question
- Why pending and active listings matter as much as solds
- How to set up neighborhood searches to keep sellers engaged
- Alissa’s vulnerable CMA mistake and the lesson behind it
- How to talk about price reductions before they happen
Key Quotes & Takeaways
- “I am a data driven person. I come from a family of appraisals. I want the numbers to fit in a box.” — Alissa
- “I want you to do it right for two weeks or less.” — Katy
- “When another agent calls me to ask how I came up with that price, I need to be able to support it with data.” — Alissa
- “If we have no showings, it is the price. If we have lots of showings but no offers, it is the condition.” — Katy
- “There is no magic number. You have to do the work, and you have to be ready to adjust.” — Alissa
Products, People & Previous Episodes Mentioned
- Episode 97: How to Do a CMA
- Episode 144: Numbers to Know
- Episode 321: Pre-Listing Appraisal: Helpful or Hindering?
- Episode 338: Buyers, Sellers and the Stats That Matter
- Seller Net Sheet + Buyer Cost Sheet
- Agent Systems 101
- Hustle Humbly Community
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Music:
Straight A’s by Connor Price
The Good Life by Summer Kennedy
Be The One by Matrika
