How to Tell if It’s Time to Lower Your Price (Without Undervaluing Your Home)

Tips for Sellers

Dec 1

Written By Kristin Koonce Burroughs, REALTOR®

Selling a home in East Texas can be emotional. You’ve invested time, energy, and love into your property, and the thought of lowering your price can feel like admitting defeat. But here’s the truth: strategic pricing is one of the most powerful tools you have as a seller, especially in Longview, White Oak, Kilgore, Hallsville, Carthage, and surrounding East Texas communities.

I’m Kristin Koonce, your go-to East Texas listing agent, and I help homeowners navigate these decisions with confidence. Whether you’re preparing to list in 2026, considering a relaunch, or just curious about your home’s market value, here’s how to know if it’s time to adjust your price without undervaluing your home.

1. Watch Days on Market Carefully

One of the clearest signs it might be time to lower your price is the number of days your home has been active without serious offers. In East Texas, buyers expect homes to move efficiently, the sweet spot is usually 30–60 days for most listings in the current market.

If your home has been sitting longer, it doesn’t mean something is wrong with your property. It means it might not be priced where buyers are looking.

Pro tip: Long listings often send the wrong message. Buyers may think something is “off” even if your home is perfect. Adjusting the price strategically can renew interest and create urgency.

2. Compare Your Home to Current Market Activity

It’s not enough to look at what similar homes sold for last year. You need a real-time comparison:

active listings nearby
pending contracts in your neighborhood
recent sold properties in the appropriate school district or area

I use a comparative market analysis (CMA) to determine whether your home is priced competitively. This is especially critical for homes in East Texas with land, acreage, or unique features — buyers are evaluating not just square footage, but lifestyle, acreage, and special amenities like barns or ponds.

3. Listen to Buyer Feedback

Every showing provides valuable insight. Buyers don’t usually volunteer the exact reason they didn’t make an offer, but patterns emerge:

“It’s beautiful, but just a little out of our budget.”
“We love it, but we’re seeing lower-priced options nearby.”

Hearing this feedback consistently can indicate that your price needs to be repositioned. As your listing agent, I help interpret feedback objectively and turn it into actionable steps. Sometimes a slight price adjustment is all it takes to reignite interest.

4. Track Online Engagement

Did you know that most East Texas buyers start online? If your home isn’t getting clicks, saves, or inquiries on Zillow, Realtor.com, and social media platforms, pricing might be a factor.

High-quality photos and compelling listing descriptions help, but even the best marketing won’t overcome a price point that feels out of reach. I monitor these analytics closely for every listing to see where interest drops and when adjustments are needed.

5. Watch for Appraisal Concerns

Even if buyers make an offer, appraisals can reveal whether your price aligns with market reality. If your home is consistently coming in above appraised value, it may be time to adjust—not to sell for less than your home is worth, but to make it market-competitive and avoid complications in the contract process.

6. Understand Market Shifts

East Texas real estate is dynamic. Interest rates, buyer demand, and local inventory all affect pricing strategy. What worked last year might not work today. For example, homes in Carthage or Gladewater with acreage often sell differently than in-town Longview homes.

As your listing agent, I use hyper-local market data to ensure your price aligns with what buyers are currently willing to pay — which can prevent unnecessary days on market and maximize your net proceeds.

7. Strategically Lowering Price Can Spark Offers

Here’s the secret: lowering your price strategically doesn’t mean undervaluing your home. It’s about finding the sweet spot where:

Your home attracts more buyers
Competition becomes favorable
Offers come in faster, often with multiple buyers competing

Many of my East Texas sellers have successfully repositioned their listings — and what looked like a “price drop” ended up resulting in multiple offers and even higher final sales prices.

8. Partner With a Listing Agent Who Knows the Market

Price adjustments are as much art as science. A good East Texas listing agent:

Understands buyer psychology
Reads real-time market trends
Creates a strategy that maximizes visibility

That’s what I do for every client across Longview, White Oak, Kilgore, Hallsville, Carthage, Henderson, and surrounding East Texas. We don’t guess — we analyze and position your home to sell confidently.

Lowering your price doesn’t have to be scary — it’s a strategic move to attract the right buyers at the right time. For homeowners thinking about selling in 2026, this approach can make all the difference between a listing that lingers and a home that’s sold quickly and successfully.

As your go-to East Texas listing agent, I’ll guide you through every decision (from pricing strategy to marketing, showings, and negotiation) so you feel confident every step of the way.

Let’s schedule a free, no-obligation consultation. Together, we’ll ensure your East Texas home hits the market at the right price and the right time!

CLICK HERE TO GET A FREE HOME VALUE REPORT.

I don’t just list properties…I SELL THEM! #getlistinwithkristin

Kristin Koonce, REALTOR®
(903)241-2608
kristinkoonce@gmail.com
www.kristinkoonce.com
BOLD Real Estate Group, Suzanne Smith, Broker/Owner

Tips for Sellers

Kristin Koonce Burroughs, REALTOR®

My name is Kristin Koonce Burroughs and I’m a REALTOR® in East Texas for BOLD Real Estate Group.

For starters, I’m not your average real estate agent! I jumped into this business boldly four (4) years ago because I want to make a difference. I want to do what other realtors aren’t doing.

My entire business is built around loving people well. That’s my business philosophy and that’s what I’m all about! I want others to be so delighted with my services, they can’t help but tell their friends about their experience with me. I want my clients to say, “Working with Kristin is better than trying to do this alone.”

In regards to my work ethic, I’m a morning person and I get the majority of my work done before most people’s alarms go off. I’m creative, proactive, a go-getter, self-disciplined, and self-motivated with an appetite to grow and be better than I was yesterday. I’m a problem solver who is strategic and thinks outside of the box. I have a lot of energy, talk fast, work quickly, and don’t drag my feet. I care a great deal about offering integrity, kindness, grace, and punctuality to the clients, agents, lenders, inspectors, appraisers, and title companies I interact with. I treat every client as if they were my only client because that matters to me. Folks can tell when a realtor is too busy or inattentive.

I’m not in it for the money, but I will absolutely earn my paycheck. Realtors are the most expensive part of a real estate transaction. If someone is going to trust me with the biggest financial decision they will ever make, then you can bet your bottom dollar I’m going to make sure they get their money’s worth. I’m going the extra mile. It’s who I am. I put my all into everything I do.

So, if you’re looking for a real estate agent in East Texas who can help you list property or buy property, let’s chat. You won’t regret it.

https://www.kristinkoonce.com