How We Sold 8111 Raleigh St in Navarre: Pricing, a Burst Pipe, and Listening to the Market

This is the story of a three-bedroom, two-bath home with a pool on Raleigh Street in Navarre, about 900 feet from Santa Rosa Sound water access. I'm Leah Bieber, a Realtor® with eXp Realty on the Emerald Coast, based in Navarre, Florida, and I listed it at $440,000.

The sellers knew that was the high end of the range. They wanted to test the market, and they agreed that if we didn't get plenty of showings right away, we would reduce the price promptly. Their goal was a quick sale, and the plan was built around it.

Before we had a chance to reduce the price, a pipe burst. With a bathroom taken apart to fix the leak, it made no sense to push for more showings, so we held the price longer than I would have liked. Once the repair was done, we made our first price change.

Day on market	List price	Showings per week
Day 1	$440,000	About 1
Day 21	$425,000	About 1
Day 44	$415,000	3 to 5

At $425,000, the showings didn't get any stronger. Then we moved to $415,000 and they picked up, from about one a week to three to five. We fielded three offers, and the home was on the market for 62 days in all. That's when I knew we had found the number.

Along the way, someone who had seen the home asked the sellers why the price was so low. It planted a seed of doubt that we might have reduced it too much. But that same person hadn't bothered to come look at the home at $425,000.

The market spoke. It told us what to do, we did it, and the offers followed. You can't let one random person who hasn't done any research, or who doesn't know anything about real estate, make you doubt your decisions. Ours were backed by data: the showings.

Possibly, if they had been willing to wait for the one buyer who would pay more. But they didn't have that kind of time, and their goal was to sell quickly, so we acted accordingly. The right price isn't the highest number you can imagine. It's the price that matches what you're trying to do.

This describes one sale. Results vary with every home, price and market.

• Start with your goal. Selling fast, selling for the most, and selling by a certain date pull in different directions. Pick the one that matters most, and price for it.
• Agree on your reduction plan before you list. Decide ahead of time what you'll do if the showings are slow, so a price change is a plan and not a panic.
• Read the showings, not the opinions. Showing activity is the market answering you. A comment from someone who never came through the door is not.
• Leave room for surprises. A burst pipe wasn't in anyone's plan. A good plan bends without breaking.

Want a number to start from? Here's how a real valuation works, and why the Zestimate is usually wrong. For the full picture of how I sell, see my selling process.

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