Overpricing Pitfalls

These figures cover single-family homes in Belknap County, from PrimeMLS market data. Each one is a 12-month figure, so one busy or slow month does not skew it.

Three things stand out.

Buyers have more to choose from. The average number of homes for sale went from 117 to 240. Months of supply, which is how long the current listings would last at today's pace of sales, went from 1.2 to 3.4.

Homes sit longer. The median home went under contract in 7 days in 2021. Today it takes 17.

Sellers are giving ground. In 2021, the median seller got 100% of the first asking price. Today the median seller gets 97.4%. In October 2026 alone, it was 96.1%. In plain terms, the typical seller now accepts less than the price they started with.

In a market with 1.2 months of supply, a high price could be rescued by a short supply of homes. With 3.4 months of supply, a high price has to compete with more homes than it did in 2021.

Buyers do not see a high price as a starting point for talks. Most of them see it as a reason not to call. A buyer with a budget of $550,000 who searches up to $575,000 will never see a home listed at $599,000, even if it would sell for $560,000.

Buyers also read days on market. When a listing has been up for weeks, they ask what is wrong with it. That question lowers offers, even when nothing is wrong with the house.

In the Lakes Region, the higher the price, the fewer buyers there are. A waterfront home on Lake Winnipesaukee or Squam Lake has a much smaller pool of buyers than a home in town. When that small pool decides a home is overpriced, there is no second wave of buyers to wait for. Each month on the market also adds carrying costs: property tax, insurance, heat and upkeep, plus dock and lawn care in season.

The best price is the one that brings the most qualified buyers in the first weeks. That is when a seller has the most leverage: more showings, more interest, and sometimes more than one offer. A home that is priced well from day one usually spends less time on the market and needs fewer cuts.

Corina Cisneros has closed more than 750 transactions since 2014 and has ranked in the top 1% of New Hampshire real estate professionals by sales volume every year since 2019. Her pricing method is laid out on the Our Pricing Method page of this site.

Before you list

Ask for the listing history of every comparable sale, not only its final price. Ask how many homes like yours are for sale right now, and how long they have been listed. And ask what happens on day 30 if the first price does not bring an offer. A seller who has those answers before listing is far less likely to chase the market down.

Corina Cisneros is a New Hampshire Lakes Region real estate broker specializing in waterfront, lake-access, and luxury properties.