“When I spoke with my client in October 2012, prior to placing the listing on the market, we were looking at the market for the months of August, September and October. The market was completely different at that time,” Kerbis says. “When we spoke again about going on the market, several months had elapsed since our original conversation. When clients do not want to go on the market right away, I am constantly running the numbers to get updated data. So at that point, both the data and the market had changed considerably.”

The fact that there was less inventory on the market in February 2013 was driving prices up. In addition, no other inventory on the market was comparable – the condo was in an elevator building with an attached garage, and there were no other comps like it in the area.

“We received an amazing response and went under contract within 24 hours with a price very close to $475,000,” Kerbis says. “In this particular situation, hesitancy on the part of the sellers actually benefitted them.”

The individual motivation of each seller is important for determining and presenting realistic pricing. Donna Brooks, broker associate and relocation specialist at Weichert, Realtors – Kingsland Properties, tries to understand her sellers’ motives first; if a seller needs to relocate for a job, for example, that factor figures into pricing as much as comps do.

Regardless of each client’s individual situation, the first two weeks the home is placed on the market are crucial, according to Brooks. The first two weeks are a strong indicator of how well the listing will perform long term at the current pricing level, because new listings tend to generate more traffic than those that have been sitting on the market longer, so more buyers are viewing them. If interest is lacking during this time, it may indicate that the listing will not sell at the original price.

“The first two weeks on the market are the best time you’ll have to sell, so that is when you want to price the home competitively. As real estate agents, we need to share with our clients a realistic expectation of this market factor,” Brooks says.