How to talk an overpriced seller into a price reduction: a Mac guide for realtors

Most overpriced listings do not fail loudly. They sit. Showings thin out, buyer feedback starts repeating the same concern, and the seller begins to blame the market, the photos, or you. Your job is to explain the gap before the seller decides the number is right.

Why overpriced listings go stale right now

Price cuts are common at the moment. Redfin reports that 21.1% of active U.S. listings had a price cut in the four weeks ending September 20, 2026. A year earlier the share was 19.8%. That is the highest share for that time of year since Redfin began tracking in 2022. The figure counts a flow of cuts, not a count of stale homes, so read it as a sign of pressure rather than a precise total.

Zillow shows the same pressure from another angle. Its July 2025 report found 27.4% of listings had a price cut, the largest share in its data back to 2018. The median listing lifespan that month was 60 days, four days longer than the pre-pandemic average. Listings that sold took 24 days. That gap is where an overpriced listing can end up.

What an overpriced listing costs the seller

The cost starts with fewer showings. Redfin notes that an overpriced listing can get fewer showings and longer listing times. Buyers may skip it, or compare it online and move on. An inflated price can also leave the appraisal short, so a deal can fall apart late. Each of those costs lands on the seller first, and then on you.

Read the Indiana numbers with care. The analysis treats each final sale price as true market value, and the authors say that may not hold for every listing. It also shows a timing pattern. Homes with one price reduction spent a median 23 days at the original price before the cut. They went under contract a median 12 days after the cut. Homes with no reduction went under contract in a median 5 days.

A 2017 study in the Journal of Real Estate Finance and Economics looked at 13,461 single-family sales. Of those, 4,308 had a listing price reduction. The authors found that overpricing often leads to a reduction. They estimated the effect of a listing price change on net selling price at two to three times the size of the reduction. Treat that as a warning, not a formula. It covers one set of sales and measures a relationship, not a guarantee.

Your time is part of the cost

Stale listings also cost you hours. NAR's 2026 Member Profile puts the median Realtor at 35 hours of work per week, unchanged from the prior year. An overpriced listing adds price calls, extra showing follow-ups, and repeated comp checks. None of that shows up on the listing sheet, but all of it comes out of the same week.

NAR's 2025 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers gives the baseline, as summarized by Virginia REALTORS. Recently sold homes spent a median four weeks on the market, one week longer than the year before. The median seller sold for 99% of list price. The typical seller did fine near list. The overpriced ones are the sellers you need to reach before the wait grows.

Build the case before the seller call

Start with the right comparables. Redfin advises basing list price on recently sold comparables, meaning final sale prices, not asking prices. In a changing market, use sales from the last three months that you would honestly compete against. Leave out the sales you wish you could be compared with. Keep the ones a buyer would really consider.

1. Pull sold comparables from the last three months. Use final sale prices, and skip homes you would not honestly compete against.
2. Write each comparable's days on market in one column, next to its sale price.
3. Calculate the average days on market for the comparables. In Google Sheets, type =AVERAGE( and select that column.
4. Write down your listing's days on market and how many showings it has had.
5. Compare the two averages. Redfin's rule of thumb: a week or more longer than the comparables' average points to overpricing.
6. List the buyer feedback you have heard, and count how often price came up.

Turn the numbers into a short conversation

Ask the seller what they need before you show them anything. Ask about timing, about the move they are planning, and about the net they expect. Then show the sheet. Let the comparables do most of the arguing. Your role is to read the numbers out loud and say what they mean for this listing.

A simple script helps. Open with the goal, then the evidence, then the choice. You might say that the listing has been on the market longer than recent comparables, that buyers keep raising price, and that you can either hold the price with a re-test date or reduce it now. Two clear options beat one ultimatum.

Mistakes that make the talk fail

• Arguing from opinion. A seller can wave off a gut feeling in one sentence. Sold data is harder to brush aside.
• Using asking prices as proof. Asking prices show what owners hope for, not what buyers paid. Use final sale prices.
• Waiting until the listing is old. NAR's averages rise from 4.9% for 0 to 14 days on market to 13.8% after 120 days, though the article does not state the basis.
• Pasting client details into a tool your brokerage has not approved. Check your brokerage's rules on client data first.
• Forgetting the appraisal. An inflated price can leave the appraisal short. Say so early, before an offer exists.

Some listings do not fit the pattern. If you have few recent sales, say so. Thin comparables make any average shaky. A property with unusual features, such as a large lot or an odd layout, may not compare well with simple sales. In those cases, show the range of recent sales and explain what they cannot tell you. Admitting limits builds trust with a seller who has heard many confident pitches.

Before you paste seller details into any AI tool, follow your brokerage's rules and your state's rules on client data. Lazur listens and looks at the screen only while you hold the shortcut. The audio and screenshot go to AI providers to answer, and they are not stored. Content is never used to train AI models. Your brokerage's policy still comes first.

Where to start this week

If your comparables live in a spreadsheet, start with the Google Sheets guide for realtors on Mac at /for/realtors/google-sheets. For the seller email, the Gmail guide at /for/realtors/gmail covers templates and scheduled send. The routine in the plan above works with either one, and you can run it with nothing new installed.

Keep a copy of your comparables in the listing file. When the seller asks again in a month, you can show what changed instead of starting over. If you want a voice assistant on your Mac, the download page is at /download. The Pro trial runs three days, starts when you first open the app, and needs no credit card.