Price It Right the First Time: What Price Cuts Really Cost Sellers

"Let's just start high."

"We can always come down."

"Let's leave some room to negotiate."

I hear it all the time.

And I get it.

Nobody wants to leave money on the table.

But in today's Denver market, starting high is usually how sellers end up leaving money on the table.

Not on purpose.

Just one price cut at a time.

If you're thinking about selling in Centennial, Greenwood Village, Lone Tree, Littleton, Highlands Ranch, Parker, Castle Rock or anywhere in the South Denver Metro, here's what price cuts really cost, and how I'd think about pricing your home right the first time.

The Short Answer

Should you start high and lower your asking price later?

In this market, usually not.

The local numbers keep telling the same story:

Homes priced right from day one tend to sell faster and closer to their original price.

Homes that need a price cut tend to sit longer and sell for less than the seller first asked.

And some never sell at all.

A price cut isn't a failure. But it's rarely free.

What Price Cuts Look Like in Denver Right Now

Denver is the price-cut capital of the country right now.

Redfin found that 30.9% of Denver home sellers cut their asking price during the four weeks ending September 20. That was the highest share of the 50 most populous U.S. metros. Nationally, it was 21.1%.

HousingWire Data looked at it another way. By early October, 54.6% of active single-family listings in Denver had already had a price reduction, among the highest of the 30 major metros it examined.

Over the same stretch, Denver's single-family inventory grew 11.4% from mid-July to early October, and new pending sales were 14.8% below the same week a year earlier.

More homes.

Fewer buyers going under contract.

That's why the first price matters so much.

(If your home is already sitting, start with Why Isn't My House Selling? 7 Reasons in Today's Denver Market.)

Real Cost #1: The Price Itself

Here's the part most sellers don't see coming.

In The Denver Gazette, Re/Max broker Landin Smith described two very different outcomes:

• Homes that had price cuts took an average of 47 days to find a buyer and closed at about 92% of their original list price
• Homes with no price changes typically sold within a week, at 99.45% of their original list price

A separate analysis of September REcolorado closings by Cooper Thayer found nearly half of closed listings (48.2%) had a price reduction along the way. Those homes sold at a median 93.1% of their original asking price.

Let's put that in dollars.

Say you list at $650,000. (That happens to be about where HousingWire put Denver's median single-family list price in October.)

At 99.45% of original list, that's about $646,425.

At 92% of original list, that's about $598,000.

That's a gap of roughly $48,000.

To be clear, that's just simple math on the averages above. It's not a prediction for your home. Every house and neighborhood is different.

But it shows why "we can always come down" can cost more than one small cut.

Real Cost #2: Time (and What It Costs You Each Month)

Time on the market isn't free.

Denver broker Will Hamm looked at September MLS data across six metro counties. Sellers who never cut their price went under contract in a median of 9 days.

Sellers who had to cut first took 67 days.

That's about two extra months.

Two more mortgage payments. Two more months of taxes, insurance, HOA dues and utilities. Two more months of keeping the house show-ready and leaving for every showing.

And if you're trying to buy your next home, two more months of your plans on hold.

Here's a quick way to run your own number:

Monthly cost while you're listed	Your number
Mortgage payment (principal and interest)	$
Property taxes (monthly)	$
Homeowners insurance (monthly)	$
HOA dues	$
Utilities and upkeep	$
Total per month	$
× 2 extra months	$

Add that to the price gap above, and you start to see what a slow start really costs.

Real Cost #3: The Stale Listing Problem

Buyers can see everything.

Days on market. Price history. Every cut.

And they read it the same way.

"What's wrong with it?"

"They'll probably take less."

Redfin's own advice to buyers right now is to consider offering below asking on homes that have been sitting for more than a month, and to ask for concessions.

So a home that sits doesn't just wait longer.

It often invites lower offers once it finally gets one.

One more thing to know.

You'll hear that Denver homes sell for about 98% of list. DMAR's close-price-to-list-price ratio was 98.45% in September.

But that ratio compares the sale price to the most recent list price, not the original one. DMAR's Market Trends chair confirmed that to The Denver Gazette.

So "98% of list" can hide a lot of price cuts.

Real Cost #4: Some Homes Never Sell

This is the one nobody talks about.

In Will Hamm's September report, 1,857 listings expired across the six metro counties, compared with 2,874 closed sales. Add 526 listings that sellers withdrew, and 45% of the listings that left the market in September left without a sale.

Here's what stood out to me.

He found the expired homes weren't different homes. Similar size. Similar age.

But they started about 10% above comparable closed sales.

The homes that sold started about 5% above.

Same kind of house.

Different starting price.

Different result.

Why "Room to Negotiate" Backfires

Redfin agent Chandra Gordon described it well. A lot of sellers want to price higher "so we have room to negotiate down."

Her take: "Overpricing a home is a fast way to deter buyers."

Here's why.

Most buyers search in price ranges. If your home is priced above the range where it belongs, it shows up next to nicer homes and loses the comparison.

Or it never shows up for the right buyer at all.

There's no negotiation if nobody makes an offer.

Redfin Senior Economist Asad Khan put it simply: "Those who sell their homes quickly are the ones who are getting savvier about pricing right from day one."

How I'd Price It Right the First Time

Here's how I'd approach it with you.

1. Price against today's competition, not last year's sales.

Recent sales matter. But your buyer is comparing your home with every active listing they toured this weekend. DMAR committee member Brad Colburn said it in the October report: "In today's market, pricing for the future—not the past—is critical."

2. Look at what didn't sell, too.

Expired and withdrawn listings near you tell you where buyers said no. That's some of the most useful pricing data there is.

3. Think about search ranges.

Where your price lands decides which buyers see your home and what it gets compared against.

4. Get the house ready first.

Pricing right only works if the house shows well. Here's what's worth fixing before you list and how much to spend getting your house ready to sell.

5. Know your net before you pick a number.

Your price is just the start. What you walk away with after costs and concessions is what matters. The net proceeds checklist in Does Downsizing Actually Save Money? works for any move.

6. Agree on a plan B before you list.

What will we look at after the first two weekends? Views, saves, showings, feedback. And what will we do if the numbers say buyers are passing? Deciding that up front keeps you from chasing the market later.

Already Listed? When a Price Cut Makes Sense

Sometimes a price cut is the right move.

If buyers are looking online but not booking showings, or touring and choosing other homes, the market is telling you something.

When that happens, I'd rather make one meaningful adjustment based on the data than a string of small ones that keep you a step behind the market.

And price isn't the only lever.

If buyers like the house but the monthly payment doesn't work, a concession toward closing costs or a rate buydown may do more than a cut. I'll cover that in the next post in this series.

What About Waiting for Spring?

Fair question.

Waiting can work if your timeline is flexible. But a stale listing doesn't reset just because the calendar does. Buyers can still see the history.

I'll dig into whether to pull your home off the market for the holidays later in this series.

And if you're not sure you even need to move, start with Should I Stay, Renovate or Move? Sometimes the better answer is staying, or making improvements that actually add value.

Frequently Asked Questions

Should I lower my asking price?

If your home is getting online views but few showings, or showings but no offers, price is often the reason. Compare your home with the active listings and recent sales a buyer would see in your area and price range. One well-researched adjustment usually works better than several small cuts.

How much do price cuts cost sellers in Denver?

It varies by home, but the local numbers are telling. In The Denver Gazette, one Re/Max broker said homes with price cuts closed at about 92% of their original list price, while homes with no price changes sold at 99.45%. On a $650,000 list price, that gap is roughly $48,000.

Is it better to price high and come down later?

In today's Denver market, usually not. Redfin found 30.9% of Denver sellers cut their asking price in the four weeks ending Sept. 20, 2026, the highest share among the 50 most populous U.S. metros. Overpriced homes tend to sit, and buyers can see the price history and days on market.

How long should I wait before reducing my price?

There's no single rule. Agree on a review point with your agent before you list, often after the first couple of weekends, and look at views, saves, showings and feedback. If buyers are consistently passing, waiting longer usually doesn't help.

Does a price cut make buyers think something is wrong with the house?

It can. Buyers see days on market and every price change, and many read a long-listed home as a chance to offer less. Redfin advises buyers to consider offering below asking on homes that have been on the market for more than a month.

Let's Get the Number Right

If you're in Centennial, Greenwood Village, Lone Tree, Littleton, Highlands Ranch, Parker, Castle Rock or anywhere in the South Denver Metro, I'm happy to walk through it with you.

What your competition really looks like.

What's selling, and what isn't.

What your home could realistically net.

No pressure.

Just a clear plan.

The best price cut is the one you never have to make.

Stay. Renovate. Move.

Devin @ The W Real Estate Group

This article is for general information only and isn't legal, tax, lending or financial advice. Market figures are from the sources below as of October 2026 and will change; neighborhood conditions vary. The dollar example is simple math on reported averages, not an estimate of any home's value. If your home is currently listed with another brokerage, please talk with your listing agent first.

Sources

• Redfin, Price-Drop Rate Ticks Up to Record September Rate Amid Strong Buyer's Market (Sept. 30, 2026)
• HousingWire, Why falling housing inventory is sending sellers the wrong signal (Oct. 14, 2026)
• The Denver Gazette, Denver real estate numbers show drop in home prices (Oct. 6, 2026)
• Cooper Thayer, The Denver Housing Market Is Stranger Than You Think: 10 Surprising Findings from September 2026 (Oct. 12, 2026; analysis of REcolorado MLS data)
• Will Hamm, Hamm Homes, Denver Expire Report for September (Oct. 6, 2026; analysis of MLS data)
• Denver Metro Association of Realtors, Market Trends Report, October 2026 (September 2026 data) (released Oct. 2, 2026)