I'm Joni Freeman, PharmD, Principal Broker of JL Marsaw & Co Realtors in Frisco, Texas. I have been a licensed broker since 2015 and a Pricing Strategy Advisor by designation, which means pricing is not just something I do, it is something I study. And the single most important thing I have learned in over a decade of listing homes in DFW is this: the first 14 days on market are not just important. They are everything.
Most sellers do not hear this before they list. They should.
What Happens in the First Two Weeks
When a listing goes live, it gets its highest concentration of buyer attention in the first seven to fourteen days. Buyers who have been watching the market, especially in DFW's $500K+ range, are paying close attention. They see the new listing, evaluate it quickly against everything else available, and either schedule a showing or move on.
If the price is right, you see showings in the first week. If you see showings, you have a real shot at an offer within the launch window. If the home also shows well, you may see multiple offers.
If the price is wrong, the listing sits. And here is where most sellers underestimate what happens next.
What Sitting Does to a Listing
A listing that does not move in the first two weeks begins to accumulate what the industry calls "days on market." Buyers and buyer's agents notice this number. When a home has been on the market for 30, 45, or 60 days, the first question every buyer asks is: what is wrong with it?
Nothing may be wrong with it. But that question has already been asked. And it changes the buyer's psychology going into every showing.
Price reductions after a slow launch are harder to recover from than pricing it correctly on day one. A $25,000 price reduction three weeks in does not undo the perception that the home has been sitting. It confirms it. Buyers who were skeptical become more aggressive in their offers. Sellers who hoped to recover their original target price find themselves negotiating from a position of weakness they did not need to be in.
I have seen sellers net less at a reduced price than they would have netted at the right price from the start after accounting for carrying costs, additional negotiations, and the psychological leverage a buyer gains from a listing with history.
What "Pricing From Data" Actually Means
When I price a listing, I am not looking at what sold six months ago and drawing a straight line. I am looking at absorption rate, how quickly are homes in this specific neighborhood moving right now? I am looking at list-to-sale price ratios for active and closed listings in the past 60 days. I am looking at days on market trends by price band. I am looking at what is currently active and what a buyer comparing your home to those listings will think when they see the price.
That is a different analysis than pulling comps and averaging them. And it produces a different result.
The goal is not to price your home as high as possible. The goal is to price your home at the number that generates the most competitive buyer activity in the launch window because competition is what drives the final sale price up, not the asking price.
The Conversation Most Agents Skip
Most agents will show you a CMA, tell you what they think your home is worth, and ask you to sign the listing agreement. What many will not do is walk you through the strategy behind the number, why this price, why now, what happens if the market responds a certain way, and what the plan is if it does not.
That conversation is the one I have with every seller before we list. It takes about 30 minutes.
If you are thinking about listing in the next 90 days in Frisco, Allen, McKinney, Prosper, or anywhere in North DFW, reach out before you sign anything. That consultation is free. What it saves you is not.
214-770-7762 | [email protected] | www.jlmarsaw.com
About the Author
Joni Freeman, PharmD is the Principal Broker and Founder of JL Marsaw & Co Realtors, based in Frisco, Texas. A Doctor of Pharmacy from Xavier University of Louisiana, Joni brings a data-driven, analytical approach to every transaction. Licensed in Texas and Georgia, she has built a 100% referral-based brokerage serving buyers, sellers, investors, and commercial clients across DFW, Houston, and Atlanta since 2015. She currently serves as a Director on the Texas REALTORS® Board of Directors and as Chair of the MetroTex Young Professionals Network.
Designations: Accredited Buyer Representative (ABR) | Seller Representative Specialist (SRS) | Pricing Strategy Advisor | New Home Co-Broker | Short Sale & Foreclosure Resource
JL Marsaw & Co Realtors | Frisco, TX | Redefining Excellence in Real Estate™
