It usually happens when a seller studies competing listings but ignores where accepted deals are landing.
If you are getting ready to sell and wondering where pricing goes wrong, I see one mistake more than any other anchoring only to what is for sale. In Roanoke, VA, active homes carried a typical asking price of $301,475 last month, while homes already under contract were typically priced at $265,000.
That spread in Roanoke, VA is too wide to ignore. Last month, homes that closed reached a typical price of $257,250, and recent offers landed about 97.2% of asking. Buyers are still paying close to list when the list price makes sense.
For sellers, that means the goal is not simply to match the highest visible number online. The goal is to enter the market where buyers are willing to say yes. If you launch above the range where contracts are actually forming, you can lose the most motivated audience during the period when attention is strongest.
Benchmark your price against pending and closed activity, not just active competition. Decide in advance how long you will wait before adjusting if response is weak. In Roanoke, VA, the first price should be a strategy, not a guess.
