One of the most interesting parts of real estate is that data and buyer behavior don’t always tell the same story.
Recently, I worked with sellers preparing to bring their home to market. We spent significant time getting ready - decluttering, painting, preparing the home thoughtfully, and building a launch strategy designed to create strong first-week momentum.
When it came time to price the home, we started at $1.7M.
That decision wasn’t based on intuition alone. We reviewed comparable sales, looked closely at current competition, and used the available market data to determine where the home should enter the market.
On paper, the positioning made sense.
And initially, the response supported that.
The first weekend brought strong turnout. There was good activity, conversations at the open house, and positive agent feedback. The comments were consistent:
Great house.
Shows well.
Feels appropriately priced.
But buyer feedback told a more complete story.
Two themes surfaced repeatedly:
- No central AC
- Lower basement ceiling height
Neither issue was new. We already knew about them.
But what became clear was that one of those factors carried more weight in the market than we had anticipated.
At this price point, buyers reacted more strongly to the lack of AC than comparable sales alone would have suggested.
That’s an important distinction.
Comparable sales help establish value.
Buyer behavior determines demand.
This is where strategy becomes more than setting a price and waiting.
We had a choice:
Stay where we were and hope buyers adjusted their expectations.
Or listen to what the market was telling us.
We chose to act.
After reviewing the feedback and activity, we repositioned the home from $1.7M to $1.6M.
And something interesting happened.
We didn’t lose value.
We gained exposure.
A completely new group of buyers began engaging with the property - buyers who either hadn’t seen it before or hadn’t seriously considered it at the previous price point.
The second weekend brought renewed activity.
Then came a private showing.
Then an offer.
This sale was a reminder of something I talk about often:
Pricing isn’t a negotiation strategy. It’s a positioning strategy.
The goal isn’t to prove that a number is correct.
The goal is to create the conditions for the right buyer to see the value in the home.
Sometimes that means staying patient.
And sometimes it means making a thoughtful adjustment before momentum disappears.
The best outcomes usually come from preparation, strategy, and being willing to listen to the market along the way.
If you’re thinking about selling and wondering how to price strategically - or how to interpret buyer feedback once your home is live - I’m always happy to help.
— Alison Borrelli
Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Commonwealth Real Estate
Needham, MA
