Let’s talk about one of the biggest misconceptions in real estate, the “pricing game.”
If you’re thinking about selling your home in Prince George, you’ve probably heard it before: “Let’s start a little high and leave room to negotiate.”
Sounds reasonable, right?
Unfortunately, this single line of thinking is one of the most expensive mistakes a seller can make.
The Old Playbook: Price High, Drop Later
Most traditional agents still cling to an outdated strategy. They’ll run a few comparables, tack on a bit of “negotiating room,” throw a sign in the yard, and hope for the best. When the home sits on the market, they suggest a price reduction. Then another. And another.
What happens next is predictable:
Buyer interest drops.
The listing goes stale.
You end up selling for less than you would have if you’d priced it right from the start.
In other words, instead of negotiating down from an inflated number, you end up chasing the market down, and losing real money along the way.
The Modern Reality: Buyers Shop in Brackets
Here’s what most homeowners don’t realize.
In today’s digital market, 95 percent of buyers start their search online, and almost all of them use price filters. Those filters don’t care about your “wiggle room.”
If your home is worth $599,000 but you list it at $605,000 “just to see what happens,” you’ve priced yourself out of every buyer searching up to $600,000. You’ve effectively taken yourself off the shelf they’re shopping on.
At One Oak, we call this “virtual shelf space.”
Just like grocery store products, homes are displayed to buyers based on price brackets. If you’re sitting on the wrong shelf, your home simply won’t be seen.
The Better Strategy: Let the Market Compete
The truth is, the market, not the agent, not the seller, determines the price.
When you create a competitive environment where multiple buyers see your home at the same time, urgency kicks in. Buyers stop asking, “How low will they go?” and start wondering, “How high do we need to go to win this?”
That’s how you get full-market value—sometimes even above it. It’s the difference between hoping for a buyer and having buyers compete for your home.
The Prince George Advantage
In Prince George, we’ve seen this time and time again. Sellers who “test” the market with inflated pricing end up sitting longer and selling for less. Sellers who launch strategically—priced correctly and marketed to reach every active buyer—walk away with stronger results and faster sales.
At One Oak Real Estate Group, our process is built around what we call the Full-Market Response. It’s designed to bring the entire market to your door at once, not one showing at a time. That’s how you uncover true market value, and often push beyond it.
The Bottom Line
If you’re planning to sell your home in Prince George, don’t fall for the pricing myth.
A “high” starting price doesn’t protect your value, it destroys it. The right price, combined with a powerful marketing plan, positions your home to attract every qualified buyer and generate real competition.
Want to learn more about how our Full-Market Response process helps Prince George homeowners sell faster and for more?
Visit www.homesellingblueprint.ca or reach out to our team directly.
Because when it comes to pricing your home, guessing is expensive, and strategy pays.