21 ways to get the price you want
It starts with more buyers
Anthony Malafronte Your Brokerage
Published Nov 4, 2026
You have a number in your head.
Maybe it's what you need for your next home. Maybe it’s what the house down the street sold for, maybe it’s what an online estimate told you last year.
But lately, everything you read says you won't get it.
Let's zoom out for a second.
In October, about one in five homes for sale had a price cut. The number of homes under contract fell more than 10% from a year earlier. In some markets, close to half of the listings that came off the market last quarter never sold at all.
But here's what's also true: Homes are still selling.
Nearly one in four sells for more than asking. And in those same markets where so many listings failed, the homes that did sell often went in about two weeks.
So what's the difference between a home that sells and a home that sits?
It comes down to one thing most sellers never think about: the size of their buyer pool.
Sources: Realtor.com October 2026 housing report (October 2026) · Nashville-area listing analysis, Benchmark Realty (Q2 2026, published July 2026) · Redfin weekly housing update (October 2026)Your buyer pool
Your buyer pool is every buyer who could realistically buy your home.
Most sellers think about price from the inside out. What they paid, what they put into the kitchen, what they need for the next place. Buyers start from the outside. They scroll, filter, compare, and cross homes off their list. (Fast.)
So to get the price you want, stop thinking like a seller, and start thinking like a buyer. And start with the size of your pool.
Here's the simple math. Say 10 buyers see your home in its first week, and one makes an offer. That buyer is negotiating against you. Now say 30 buyers see it, and three make offers. Those buyers are negotiating against each other.
Same house, same price, but a very different conversation.
The best price comes from the biggest pool. More buyers = more showings. More showings = more offers. More offers = more leverage.
But here's the catch...
Your pool shrinks at every step of a sale. Some buyers never find your home. Others find it but never book a showing. Some tour it but can't picture living there. Others want it but can't make it work. And some make an offer, then walk.
And right now, the pool is already smaller than usual. With homes under contract down more than 10% from a year ago, there are fewer buyers to go around.
So your job is simple: keep as many buyers in your pool as you can, at every step.
So here are 21 things that grow or shrink your buyer pool. Some pull buyers in. Some push them out. And one of them is a move most sellers have never heard of.
Let’s start with the one that matters most: your price.
21 ways to grow your buyer pool
1. Price against today's competition
Buyers don't judge your home on its own. They judge it next to every other home for sale in their price range that week.
This is where it gets uncomfortable. Buyers pay for what homes like yours are selling for right now. That's true even if your kitchen cost a lot more. And an online estimate is a computer's guess, made before a single buyer has walked through your door.
Half of estimates land inside this range. Half land outside it.
If that stings a little, you're not alone. You've probably watched your home's value climb for years. But buyers can only pay what the homes around yours support today.
The sellers who get their price usually make peace with this early. They stop pricing off what homes were worth at the peak, or what the neighbor got a few years ago. They know those prices aren't realistic anymore. So they price for the market they're actually selling in.
It can feel like giving something up. But a price buyers believe in is usually what gets a home sold quickly. And if you've owned your home for a while, there's a good chance you'll still walk away with a solid profit.
Plenty of sellers do the opposite, and overprice. In one survey, 77% of agents said overpricing is the biggest mistake sellers make.
So ask your agent for homes like yours that sold in the last 60 to 90 days, and homes like yours for sale right now. Then pick a price that looks good next to both.
Priced in line, you make every comparing buyer's short list. Priced above, they cross you off before they ever book a showing.
2. Price inside the range buyers search
Most buyers shop online with a top price set, and they tend to pick round numbers. If your price lands even a little above one of those numbers, those buyers may never see your home. A small difference on paper can hide you from a whole group of buyers.
Ask your agent which price ranges buyers in your area actually search. Then make sure you land inside the right one.
Inside the right range, you show up in their search. Just above a cutoff, a whole group of buyers might never see you.
3. The widest possible exposure
The more places your home is seen, the bigger your pool. Zillow found that homes kept off the MLS sold for about 1.3% less. Some brokerages say their pre-marketing programs do better. Either way, ask your agent exactly where your home will be seen, and by how many buyers.
Every place your home doesn't appear is a group of buyers who can't join your pool.
Being found is step one. Now they have to want to see it.
4. Photos decide who books a showing
Most buyers meet your home on a phone before they ever see it in person. In the National Association of Realtors' latest survey, 81% of buyers who searched online said photos were very useful, more than any other feature on a listing site.
And the attention photos earn adds up. Zillow found that listings with 500 or more views a day often sell above list price.
Great photos turn scrollers into showings. Dark or cluttered ones send them to the next listing.
5. Curb appeal
A study published in a peer-reviewed real estate journal found that homes with strong curb appeal sell for about 7% more than similar homes nearby. During the 2008 housing crash, the premium jumped to 10% to 11%.
Mow. Trim. Paint the front door. Clean the entry. Turn on the porch light for evening showings.
Many buyers drive by before they book. A tired front yard can lose them at the curb.
6. Your best feature, front and center
Some of the most valuable things about a home never make it into the listing. A private parking spot on a street where parking is hard to find. A view hidden behind heavy curtains. A quiet backyard nobody thought to photograph.
If buyers don't know it's there, they can't pay for it.
A great agent knows who buys in your neighborhood and what they want most. Right now, agents say buyers are drawn to extra storage or a garage, a home office, a finished basement or bonus room, and outdoor space. So ask yourself: what would I brag about to a friend? Then make sure it's in the photos, the first line of the listing, and every post.
Every buyer who wants that feature joins your pool, but only if they know it's there.
7. A floor plan and 3D tour
In a Zillow survey, nearly two-thirds of buyers said they wished more listings had 3D tours. A floor plan helps buyers picture their furniture, and their life, in your home.
Busy and out-of-town buyers can tour your home before they ever book a showing.
8. A launch that's ready on day one
Your pool is never bigger than on day one. That's when every serious buyer with an alert set for your area sees your home, all at once. Redfin found that views drop by half on day two, and to about a quarter after a week.
Now here's the twist. Many sellers go live at a "let's see what happens" price, planning to lower it later. But when sellers cut their price, views jumped for exactly one day, then fell right back.
One day. That's all a price cut bought them.
Meanwhile, Zillow found that homes that found a buyer within a week were 2.6 times as likely to sell over asking.
2.6x as likely to sell above asking.
So don't go live until the price, the photos, and the house are all ready. Day one is too valuable to use as a test.
Day one is your biggest pool. Every day after, it gets a little smaller.
Now they're walking through your front door. The next question: can they picture living there?
9. Move-in ready condition
In one survey, 76% of agents said move-in ready condition is the biggest selling point for buyers right now. Buyers stretched by today's mortgage rates don't have extra cash for projects.
And if you've lived with that cracked tile for years, you've probably stopped seeing it. Buyers won't.
Every project a buyer spots shrinks your pool down to the people who want a project.
10. Fresh paint and small updates
In one survey, 30% of agents said painting gives the best return for helping a home sell for more. Another 17% pointed to minor kitchen updates. Small fixes tell buyers the home has been cared for.
Small fixes keep "it needs work" buyers from walking out.
11. Staging and decluttering
In a National Association of Realtors survey, 29% of agents said staging led to offers 1% to 10% higher, and 49% said it helped homes sell faster.
Here's the honest part. Most of us stop noticing our own home's smell. Buyers notice it the second they walk in. And the bold wallpaper you love fits only the buyers who love it too.
Clean and neutral fits more buyers. Strong personal taste fits fewer.
12. Easy showings
About a third of agents say vacant homes sell faster, partly because they're so easy to show. If you're still living there, say yes to as many showings as you can.
Every showing you turn down is a buyer you lose.
Now a buyer wants your home. But wanting it and buying it are two different things.
13. Help with buyer costs
Sellers gave buyers money toward costs in 44.7% of recent home sales. A credit toward closing costs or a lower mortgage rate can make the numbers work for a buyer who's stretched.
The timing matters. Builders advertise their incentives up front, as a reason to choose their home. Many sellers wait until a buyer asks, and then it's just part of the haggling. And 15.8% of recent sales included both a concession and a price cut. Those sellers paid twice.
So decide what you'd be willing to offer before you list, and talk with your agent about putting it in the marketing. One note: loan programs limit how much a seller can contribute, so check with your agent before you promise a number.
Brings in buyers who can afford the monthly payment but are short on cash.
14. An inspection before you list
Deals often fall apart after the buyer's inspection, when problems nobody knew about suddenly come to light. Getting your own inspection first lets you fix things, or price for them, before a buyer finds them.
Fewer surprises means fewer buyers walking away after the inspection.
15. Flexible terms
Price isn't the only thing buyers care about. A closing date that fits their move, or time to rent back, can make your home easier to say yes to. And if you need more time yourself, a longer closing can be part of the deal, too.
Buyers with tricky timing can say yes, too.
16. Know your walk-away number
Many sellers think the deal is done once they sign an offer. Then the inspection comes back with requests for repairs or credits. So decide ahead of time what you're willing to give:
These costs are more than the sale price.
When you know that number before you list, a repair request isn't a shock. It's already in your plan.
When you're ready for repair requests, the buyer you have stays in the deal.
Now the clock is ticking. The rest of the list is about keeping buyers at the table, and this is where most of the money gets won or lost.
17. Decide your price move before you list
Here's how it usually goes. The first week is busy. Then the showings slow down. You wait a few more weeks, hoping the right buyer shows up. Then, finally, you lower the price.
Waiting feels safe. But it usually costs more. The longer a home sits, the bigger the cut it ends up needing: about 4.9% early on, and about 13.8% after four months. That's a cut nearly three times as big.
Same house. Same kitchen. The only thing that changed was the calendar.
Average price cut at this point: 7.3% (about $29,200).
$9,600 more than a cut in the first two weeks.
This is the smallest average cut on the chart.
So agree on one sentence with your agent before you list. Call it your week-two rule:
"If we have fewer than ___ showings by day ___, we'll change the price to ___."
Your agent fills in the blanks with local numbers. If week two is quiet, you already know what to do.
Adjust early, while your pool is still big. Wait, and you're adjusting for fewer buyers.
If you've had any early thoughts of selling, now's the time to talk. In 15 minutes, I'll show you what your week-two rule should be, with real numbers from your neighborhood.
Call or text me at (555) 555-0100.
18. One meaningful cut
If you do lower your price, make it count. Redfin puts it simply: a small cut often won't work unless it moves your home into a new price range on the home search sites. Agents also warn that small cuts every few weeks teach buyers to wait for the next one.
A cut into a new price range brings in a whole new group of buyers. A tiny cut mostly reminds the old ones you're still there.
19. A real counter to every offer
Any offer matters right now, because fewer homes are going under contract. Even a low one tells you someone wants your home.
But make the counter real. Coming down only a sliver from your asking price can feel like a real step to you. Buyers rarely see it that way. They see a seller who isn't budging, and they move on to the next house.
Listed at $605,000. Countered at $599,000. The buyer moved on.
Illustration. The street and prices are made up.A counter that barely moves tells a buyer the same thing silence does.
And watch the pattern. One low offer is a buyer testing you. Five low offers are the market telling you something.
A real counter keeps a buyer in your pool. Silence, or a counter that barely moves, takes them out.
20. A reverse offer
Here's that move most sellers have never heard of. Instead of waiting for an offer, you send one. Your agent writes up the terms you'd accept, you sign it, and it goes to buyers who already toured your home or came back for a second look. It comes with a short deadline.
It works best when buyers are interested but stuck on the fence. A signed offer with a deadline can help them decide.
Brings fence-sitters back into your pool.
21. A weekly look at your competition
Your competition changes every week. New homes come on, prices get cut, homes go under contract. Ask your agent for a quick update each week, so you're reacting to the market you're actually in.
When the homes around you change, so does your pool.
How to size up your competition
Every home for sale near you is fishing in the same buyer pool. So look at it the way a buyer would. Ask your agent for four lists of homes like yours:
- 1
For sale now. This is who you're competing against today.
- 2
Under contract. This shows what buyers are choosing right now.
- 3
Sold in the last 60 to 90 days. This shows what buyers actually paid.
- 4
Expired or taken off the market. This is the one most sellers skip, and it may be the most useful. These homes show you exactly where buyers said no.
Then ask one question: if I were a buyer with this budget, which home would I pick? If the answer isn't yours, you know what to work on.
If you only do three things
Twenty-one is a lot. If you're short on time, start here, in this order:
- 1. Price against today's competition (#1). It decides whether buyers enter your pool at all.
- 2. Launch ready on day one (#8). It's your biggest pool, and it only comes once.
- 3. Write your week-two rule (#17). It lets you adjust while your pool is still big.
What grows your pool vs. what shrinks it
If you're trying to sell your house, get as many things in the left column as you can.
The homes that sit and the homes that sell are in the same market. The difference is the size of their buyer pool, and that's something you can change.
More buyers, more leverage. The market sets the price. You set the plan.
Thinking about selling in the next few months, or even in spring?
Now is a good time to plan this. In 15 minutes, I'll show you:
- How big your buyer pool is right now, and who you're competing against
- Which moves on this list will grow it the most for your home
- What your week-two rule and walk-away number should be
If it feels too early, that's usually the best time to start.
These numbers are national or regional. Your area may be different.