The Truth About Price Reductions: When (and When Not) to Lower Your Price in Fort St. John

If your home is on the market in Fort St. John and you’re not seeing any offers, it’s only natural to start considering a price reduction. This is often the first suggestion sellers hear from friends or family. But is it really the right move?

From my experience, a price drop can be a smart, strategic decision—but it can also backfire if done too early or without a full understanding of the situation. Before you make any cuts, let’s take a step back, assess what’s truly happening in the market, and make a choice that aligns with your goals.

Let’s discuss when a price reduction makes sense—and when it might not be the best option.

The First 7–10 Days Are Critical

When your home first hits the market, that’s when it garners the most attention. It appears in saved searches and catches the eye of motivated buyers who’ve been waiting for the right opportunity. If it doesn’t gain traction during this initial window, that’s usually a sign that something isn’t quite right.

Sometimes the issue is pricing. But just as often, it’s about presentation or exposure. If the photos don’t highlight your home’s best features, if staging wasn’t optimized, or if the marketing didn’t reach the right audience—dropping the price won’t address the real problem.

That’s why we always take a strategic approach, especially during those first critical days.

What the Data Is Telling Us

We’re not alone in noticing an uptick in price reductions lately.

In Canada, CREA data shows that roughly 30% of listings in early 2025 were reduced before selling, particularly in higher-priced urban markets where buyers have more options. This trend is also felt here in FSJ, where the market dynamics can shift quickly.

But here’s the crucial takeaway—homes with multiple price cuts tend to sell for less than those priced correctly from the start. Price reductions, if executed too late or too frequently, send a message: something’s wrong with this property.

That’s not the impression we want attached to your home. Accurately pricing your property with your real estate agent's professional insights isn’t just a step; it’s a key strategy for launching your home effectively, attracting offers, and securing the best possible price.

When a Price Reduction Makes Sense

There are indeed times when adjusting the price is the right call. Here’s when we'd recommend it:

• You’ve had consistent showings, but no offers. This often means buyers see the home as a match—but not at the current price.
• Similar homes nearby have sold—and yours hasn’t. If the comparables are clear, buyers are comparing, and we’re out of alignment.
• The original list price was more aspirational than strategic. That can happen, especially if you launched with hopes based on last year’s market highs.

In these situations, a well-considered price adjustment—paired with a fresh marketing push—can help reignite interest and get your listing back in front of serious buyers.

But…

When You Should Hold the Line

Sometimes, it’s not about the price. Lowering it won’t fix the underlying issue.

Before we recommend any adjustment, we’ll ask:

• Was your home marketed to its full potential? High-quality visuals, strong listing copy, and targeted exposure make a significant difference. If those elements were lacking, we’ll address them first.
• Were showings easy to book? If buyers couldn’t get in—or had limited availability to view the home—we may not have seen the full demand yet.
• Were early offers dismissed too quickly? We’ve seen sellers turn down strong offers simply because they didn’t match the list price. But the first offer often starts the conversation, not ends it. With the right counter and data-backed negotiation, we can still get you where you want to be.

Lowering the price hastily, without adjusting your approach, can backfire. It's not solely the price that matters, but how buyers perceive the value they’re receiving.

What We Do Instead

Before making any moves, we take a moment to audit everything:

• We review the photography and staging. Are we showcasing your home’s strongest features?
• We look at buyer feedback. What’s coming up in conversations or showing reports?
• We relaunch marketing if needed. If the first round didn’t gain traction, we go again—with fresh eyes and renewed energy.

Sometimes just repositioning the listing—without changing the price—can make all the difference. We’ve had properties sell at full asking after we updated the photos, reworded the description, or changed our strategy for promoting the home. It’s not always about the price; it’s about the presentation.

The Real Cost of Overcorrecting

If a price drop is made too steeply—or more than once—it can send the wrong signal.

In fact, a 2024 NAR report found that homes with multiple price reductions sold for 6.7% less on average than homes priced appropriately from day one. This means that repeatedly reducing the price can lead to a lower final sale price than simply pricing it right (and being patient) from the start.

So before we adjust that list price, we’ll explore all the options. Because reducing the price is usually a permanent decision.

Selling Smart in 2025

In this market, pricing is powerful—but it’s not the only tool we have. The goal isn’t just to sell. It’s to sell with confidence, clarity, and the best possible outcome for your next move.

If you’re feeling uncertain about what to do next—or wondering whether a price drop is the right step—we’d be happy to talk it through.

Let’s look at your home, your market, your buyer feedback, and make the decision that makes the most sense for you.

Because your home deserves a plan—not a panic reaction.