09/11/2026
Put two homes on the market in the same neighborhood.
**Home #1:** Turnkey, updated, clean and properly priced.
**Home #2:** Dated, needs work, but is priced aggressively enough that it looks like a great deal.
**Which one sells first?**
In today’s market, I’m betting on the turnkey home.
And that tells us a lot about how Realtors should approach one of the biggest challenges in the market right now:
**The stale listing.**
Buyers have more choices than they have had in years, and they are becoming increasingly selective.
The homes that are moving tend to have one thing in common:
**They are easy to buy.**
Not just financially.
Emotionally.
They are clean. They are updated. The major systems appear sound. There are fewer unanswered questions. The buyer can picture moving in without immediately spending another $30,000, $50,000 or $100,000.
Meanwhile, the “deal” often comes with friction.
Old roof.
Old HVAC.
Dated kitchen.
Deferred maintenance.
Contractors.
Cash after closing.
And uncertainty about what else might be hiding behind the walls.
A buyer might be able to finance an additional $40,000 in purchase price over 30 years.
But $40,000 of renovations after closing?
That is usually coming out of their pocket.
**The cheapest house isn't always the best value.**
Increasingly, buyers are paying for certainty.
So what do you do when a listing has been sitting for 60, 90 or even 120 days?
The automatic answer is usually:
**Reduce the price.**
Sometimes that is exactly what needs to happen.
But before cutting the price again, I would ask three questions.
# # 1. Is it really a price problem — or a payment problem?
Imagine a seller is considering a $20,000 price reduction.
Instead of automatically lowering the price, ask:
**Could that same $20,000 be used more effectively to make the home easier to buy?**
Depending on the transaction, seller concessions could potentially be used toward:
• Closing costs
• A temporary mortgage-rate buydown
• A permanent rate reduction
• Other buyer affordability strategies
A price reduction might make the house look cheaper.
A financing incentive can sometimes make the house **feel significantly cheaper every single month.**
Builders figured this out a long time ago.
They do not always compete by dropping the base price.
They compete with financing incentives.
Resale sellers can do the same thing.
**You don't necessarily have to make the house cheaper. You may need to make it cheaper to own.**
# # 2. Can you turn the stale listing into a turnkey listing?
Once a home sits for an extended period of time, buyers start asking a dangerous question:
**“What's wrong with it?”**
So answer that question before they ever walk through the door.
Consider repositioning the property with:
• A pre-listing inspection
• HVAC servicing
• Roof inspection or certification
• Sewer scope where appropriate
• Minor repairs completed
• Fresh paint or landscaping
• New staging
• Completely new photography
• Home warranty
• Repair receipts and documentation available
Then relaunch it.
Not as the same house with a new MLS date.
As a **different product.**
Instead of:
*Charming home with great potential.*
Try:
**Inspected. Serviced. Move-in ready.**
The goal is to eliminate as much buyer uncertainty as possible.
# # 3. Stop waiting for the buyer to find you
A stale listing does not necessarily need more exposure.
After 60 or 90 days on the MLS, plenty of people have probably already seen it.
It may need **better-targeted exposure.**
Most MLS systems have some form of reverse prospecting that allows listing agents to identify Realtors who have buyers searching for properties matching their listing.
Instead of another mass email or another poorly attended open house, identify the agents who actually have matching buyers.
Then call them.
Something as simple as:
*“I noticed you have a buyer who may match my listing. We've repositioned the property and the seller is now offering a financing incentive that wasn't available before. Can I send you the details?”*
That is a very different conversation.
The goal is not always getting **more eyeballs.**
It's getting the **right eyeballs.**
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So before recommending another price reduction on a stale listing, diagnose the problem.
# # # Is it a PRICE problem?
Buyers like the house.
They just don't believe it is worth the asking price.
**Solution: Revisit price.**
# # # Is it a PRODUCT problem?
The condition, presentation, maintenance, layout or uncertainty is turning buyers away.
**Solution: Improve the product and reposition it.**
# # # Is it a PAYMENT problem?
Buyers like the house and might even agree with the price.
They simply cannot make the payment or cash-to-close work.
**Solution: Look at the financing.**
That brings me back to the original question:
# # Turnkey or the aggressive deal — which one wins?
Right now, I believe **turnkey wins more often than most sellers realize.**
Because today's buyer isn't simply shopping for the lowest price.
They're shopping for **value, affordability and certainty.**
And if you have a stale listing, the solution may not be another price reduction.
It may be changing the way the property is being sold.
If you're a Realtor with a listing that isn't moving, send it to me.
I'll look at the financing side of the equation and see if we can create a better story around the **payment instead of just the price.**
**YesTodd.com**
