Price reduction calculator

Two questions in one place: does the listing's activity say it is time to talk about price, and if the price changes, which buyer searches does the new price reach?

When is it time to talk about price?

The calculator reads the same signals most listing agents watch, and gives one of three answers:

• Stay the course: activity is steady or rising, days on market are within the normal range for the area (or under about 21 days when the area's number is unknown), and no objection keeps repeating.
• Fix something other than price: the same non-price objection keeps coming up, such as photos, a smell, a repair or hard showing access. Fix that one thing first.
• Discuss price: price or value comes up in two or more pieces of feedback, or showings have fallen two weeks in a row with no offers, or days on market are well past the area's typical number (more than one and a half times).

"Discuss price" means it is time for an updated comparative market analysis and an honest meeting with the seller. The calculator never picks the new price for you.

Why search brackets matter

Most buyers search with a maximum price, usually a round number such as $500,000. A home listed at $512,000 is invisible to everyone searching "up to $500,000", even though it may sell for less than that. Pricing just under a bracket line (for example $499,900) puts the listing in front of a whole new group of buyers, while the buyers searching up to $525,000 or $550,000 still see it.

The calculator shows the bracket lines below the current price, what it costs to reach each one, and how many brackets a new price would add. Check the steps your local portals actually use: many move in $10,000 steps at lower prices and $25,000 or $50,000 steps higher up.

This is a decision aid, not a pricing opinion or legal advice. A price change is the seller's decision. Base it on fresh comps, not only on activity.