Your home isn't selling this fall? When and how to adjust the price

You list the house, you wait for showings, and the phone stays quiet. Two weeks go by, then three. The first question I get is always the same: what's wrong with my house? Most of the time, the house is fine. It's the price that no longer works.

Why price decides everything this fall

The balance of power has shifted. In September there were 4,050 homes for sale on the South Shore, 32% more than a year earlier, according to QPAREB figures. Over the same stretch, sales fell 7%, to 746 transactions. Put plainly: more homes on the market, fewer buyers to absorb them. Whoever is shopping today is spoiled for choice, and they compare.

The Bank of Canada hasn't opened the taps either. It held its policy rate at 2.25% on September 2, and its next decision lands on October 28. Five-year fixed rates sit around 4.4% and have been edging up this fall, not down. Buyer budgets aren't growing. When money costs the same and there is far more to choose from than before, the asking price is what does the sorting.

The signs your price is too high

The market talks to you, even when the phone is silent. Here is what I watch for in a listing that stalls.

The first two or three weeks are the ones that count. That's when your listing is new, when it surfaces in searches, and when serious buyers see it first. Few or no showings during that window is almost always a price issue, not the photos and not the season.

Plenty of showings but no offer is a different signal, and a subtler one. People come because the house looks good online, then leave because the price doesn't match what's in front of them. And when the feedback from buyers' brokers keeps landing on the same point, it stops being an opinion. Look as well at what has actually sold near you in the last two months, not what's listed. Asking prices tell you what sellers are hoping for. Sold prices tell you the truth.

When to adjust, and by how much

The instinct is to wait another couple of weeks and see. That's often the mistake that costs the most. The longer a listing ages, the more buyers wonder what's wrong with it, and the more it tends to sell below its value. The home loses its freshness, and with it its negotiating power.

If the first three weeks are quiet, I suggest acting around the fourth or fifth. And when you adjust, adjust for real. Shaving off 1% throws away a little money and changes nothing, because nobody notices. The idea is to land back in the bracket where buyers are actually searching. A home listed at $539,000 that drops to $499,000 suddenly appears in every search capped at $500,000. That's a whole pool of buyers opening up at once.

One clean adjustment beats three small cuts strung out over two months. A string of reductions signals that you're in a hurry and will eventually give on everything. A single realignment, set against the comparables that have sold, signals that you know your market and listed a real number to begin with.

What this means for you

• You're selling: set the starting price on recent sales, not on the number you'd like to get or the one the neighbour is asking. Give yourself a rule before you even list: if the first three weeks are silent, we reassess, no drama. That keeps you from defending a figure out of pride while the listing wears out. I always start from a comparables analysis, and I go into it in my piece on how long it takes to sell on the South Shore.
• You're buying: the listings that sit are your playground. A home that's been listed for six or eight weeks often has a seller ready to listen to a thoughtful offer. Check the listing date and the price history before you offer: you'll know who has room to move and who just arrived on the market.
• You're selling a plex or income property: here the price isn't defended with emotion, it's defended with numbers. An investor pays based on income and yield, not on a soft spot for the place. If your price runs past what the rents support, the building will sit, full stop. Line the asking price up with the real cap rate for the area, not with hope.

These benchmarks apply to the South Shore in general. Your home has its own file: its sector, its condition, its direct competition this week. If yours is sitting, or before you even list it, let's talk about the real comparables and a price that sells it rather than waiting it out. Request a free evaluation or write to me, and we'll look at your numbers together.