Price reductions for real estate listings have increased +200% over last year in Contra Costa County. It is important to address and understand this topic in its entirety. 

What is a price reduction?

A price reduction occurs when you and our team determine together that it is time to lower the list price of your home. The new price will be posted on the MLS, and the listing will show users that the price has changed. 

When is a price reduction warranted?

Price reductions are warranted when a home has passed the average days on market for like properties, and the activity on the home has slowed dramatically.  

How do we know average days for like properties?

Prior to listing a home, our team creates a market analysis for each property. This is how we price your home, and thus the market analysis is discussed heavily together. The analysis shares our hand-selected comps and the aggregate of the days on market for these properties. If the average is 21 days on market and your home passed this number of days on market, your home is then likely in need of a price reduction.   

What are the goals of a price reduction?

By lowering the price, our goal is to broaden the Buyer Pool and increase showings amongst those who may be circling the property and those who can now afford the new price point of the home.  

What is the typical recommended price reduction amount?

The general rule of thumb in the Lamorinda real estate market is 10%. You must become the best-priced home on the market to sell, and at the same time, you must reach the next group of buyers to broaden your audience. You want to be aggressive with a price reduction as you only want to lower the price once. If you continue to only lower enough to align with a declining market, you will simply be chasing the market down instead of getting ahead of it and selling. Whereas, if your price reduction attracts attention, there is a chance you will attract competition, and the market will push your price back up a bit as a result.  

Our goal is always to price your home correctly for the current market activity. However, if a price reduction is needed, regardless of the reason, we recommend you do it quickly! We can’t control the market, but we can help to control your actions and your ultimate success.  

As always, please feel free to call anytime. We are here to guide you through this confusing time in the Lamorinda real estate market. 

Dana & Team