Imagine you are selling your 1982 Cadillac Cimarron in a Camel color. Despite it being possibly the ugliest car ever made, you love it and think that the rest of the world will love it too. You proudly put it on Facebook Marketplace with a price tag of $8,000. A few weeks go by and no one asks about it. You decide that maybe you love it a bit too much and lower the price to $7,500. Still, you get no interest. This continues for 6 months as you slowly lower the price to $2,500. You get your first inquiry from a gentleman with no taste and a little budget, who says he’d be happy to own the car for $2,000. You agree to $2,250, and the car drives off into the sunset to look awful in someone else’s driveway.

This story is an example of how easy selling your home can be if you wake up to the realities of what you own and react to the responses you get from buyers when the property is listed for sale. If you list at too high a price because you think everyone in the world will love your wallpaper with cherries on it and your pink cabinets and maroon tile as much as you do, then no one will buy it. It’s not that complicated.

When you list your home, the “market” will tell you if your property will sell for your price. The market is all of the potential buyers looking for properties like yours. If no one loves your home as much as you do, and you don’t lower your price, you will get to keep your home and all its pink and maroon goodness.

Of course, you should lower the price to try and find the point where people are interested. Unfortunately, buyers never say, “Are you out of your mind? I wouldn’t pay that much for your home if you left a gold bar buried in the backyard!” They say generic things like, “It’s not open enough for us.” Why offend someone if you have no intention of buying the home?

It would be great if buyers would just say what they think and sellers could react accordingly, but since they don’t, it’s important for sellers to read between the lines.

The number one reason a property doesn’t sell is because it’s overpriced, and 40% of the homes listed these days never sell.

Keep it simple, and you’ll sell every time. Price it well at the start and then adjust as the market dictates. Remember, if you hold to your high price, you’ll get to keep your home.

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Steve is a founding member of DS Elite and currently serves as Vice President on the Board of Directors.