Most sellers in Columbus have a number in mind before I run a single comp. That number usually comes from what they paid, what they put into the kitchen, or what their neighbor told them at a cookout last summer. Sometimes it's right. Often it's not. And the difference between those two outcomes is not just a few thousand dollars. It's whether you sell in two weeks or spend four months chasing a market that already moved on without you.
Here's how I read a pricing position, and how you can too.
What Makes a Home Overpriced
Overpricing is not always obvious from the list price alone. You have to look at what similar homes have actually closed for, not what they were listed at.
The number is out of line with recent closed sales. If a home is listed significantly higher than comparable closed sales in the same zip code, on similar square footage, condition, and lot, without a clear justification, it is likely overpriced. The tell is often price per square foot. When a home is sitting 15 or 20 percent above its neighbors on a cost-per-foot basis and has no meaningful upgrades to account for it, buyers feel that immediately and move on.
The market is voting no. Overpriced listings show a recognizable pattern: high days on market, low showing volume, no offers in the first two weeks, and eventually a price reduction. Sometimes a relisting under a new MLS number to reset the clock. That clock-reset is a red flag buyers can see in the history, and it signals something went wrong the first time.
In my experience, homes that sit longer than 60 days on the market almost always end up selling below their final list price, because buyers assume there's a problem even when there isn't one. The stigma of a stale listing is real. That discount often erases whatever the seller was trying to "protect" by starting high.
The price reflects emotion, not data. The most common causes I see: a seller adds the full cost of a renovation to the ask without accounting for what buyers in that price band are actually willing to pay for it; or a seller is pricing based on peak-2021 comps that no longer apply in 2025 or 2026; or a seller is trying to build in negotiation room by pricing high, not realizing that in today's Columbus market, that strategy mostly builds in sitting time.
What Makes a Home Strategically Priced
Strategic pricing is not about going low. It is about going accurate, and then using that accuracy to create leverage.
It starts with a real CMA. A serious comparative market analysis looks at what has actually closed in the last 90 days, the same square footage range, similar condition, similar lot, same general area. It is not an automated value estimate from Zillow. It is not your neighbor's kitchen-counter number. It is closed sales data, mapped against your specific property, with adjustments for what makes yours different in either direction.
What I consistently see: homes priced tightly to their actual market value go under contract within the first two weeks at a far higher rate than homes priced 3 to 5 percent above. Once you get 3 to 5 percent over true market value, time to contract tends to stretch from weeks into months.
It accounts for buyer psychology and search brackets. Buyers in Columbus search in brackets. A buyer looking at $399,000 does not see the $407,500 home unless they manually adjust their filter. Pricing a $400,000 home at $407,500 to "leave room to negotiate" often means the buyers most likely to buy it never see it. Smart pricing puts the home in the bracket where the right buyers are already looking.
In the right conditions, it uses controlled underpricing. In stronger Columbus submarkets, particularly in Westerville and parts of New Albany, I have seen sellers use slight underpricing (3 to 5 percent below expected value) as an intentional strategy to generate multiple offers and an auction environment. When you have strong presentation, a good marketing launch, and pent-up demand in the right price band, that competition can push the final sale price above what a cautious high list would have achieved. It is not magic. It requires the right conditions and a real read on current buyer demand in that specific submarket. But it works when those conditions line up.
How to Read a Listing: Signs It Is One or the Other
If you are shopping in Columbus or trying to evaluate your own list price, these are the signals I look at.
Signs a home is overpriced:
- The list price is noticeably above recent closed comps with no clear upgrade or feature to justify it
- Days on market is climbing past 21 days with no offers in a submarket where active homes are moving in under two weeks
- There has been at least one price reduction already
- The listing history shows a prior MLS number or a relist after going off market
Signs a home is strategically priced:
- The price lines up tightly with recent closed comps and makes sense given the condition and location
- There is strong early activity: multiple showings in the first five to seven days, and offers or serious interest coming in quickly
- The price hits a logical search bracket for its range
- The seller's agent can tell you specifically which closed comps they used and how they adjusted for condition
A well-priced home does not need to drop. An overpriced home almost always does.
Why This Matters More Than Most Sellers Expect
The final sale price on an overpriced home that eventually sells is almost always lower than what a correctly priced home would have fetched from day one. The mechanism is simple: the longer a home sits, the more buyers assume something is wrong, and the more leverage shifts to the buyer at the negotiation table.
In Columbus right now, buyer attention concentrates heavily on new listings in the first two weeks. That window is when you have the most showings, the most competing interest, and the most leverage as a seller. Price past that window, and you are negotiating from a weaker position than you would have been if you had priced it right to begin with.
Strategic pricing is not about discounting your home. It is about showing up at the right number, at the right moment, so the market responds the way you need it to.
If you are thinking about selling in the Columbus area, or you are evaluating whether a specific home is priced right for today's market, I am happy to run the comps and give you a straight read.
Call or text me at 937-239-2919, or book a time at calendly.com/adam-geuy.
Adam Geuy, Realtor - NextHome Experience | ABR, PSA, SRS | License #202000794