This is more than a tale of the two real estate markets in London Ontario happening at once! Houses that sell, houses that sit.

In every real estate market—hot, cold, or balanced—there’s always two markets happening at once.

As a residential real estate broker in London, Ontario, I’ve seen this pattern play out time and again: some homes sell quickly, some with multiple offers, while others linger on the market for weeks or even months. The difference? It almost always comes down to pricing strategy.

Regardless of whether it's a seller’s market, a buyer’s market, or a balanced market, there are only two pricing strategies!

🔍 The Market of “Priced to Sell.”

A house is being snapped up in London Ontario, because it was priced to sell

This is where savvy sellers live. Homes in this market are positioned to align with buyer expectations, local trends, and realistic valuation. When a home is priced to sell:

• It attracts immediate attention.

• It generates showings and offers within days.

• It often garners competing bids.

• It sells at or above the asking price.

In today’s London, Ontario, market, these homes balance presentation, marketing, and a smart pricing strategy based on current data—not wishful thinking.

Not what your neighbour sold for two years ago or six months ago, today’s market!

🕰️ The Market of “Priced to Sit.”

A house sitting on the market in London, Ontario drains everyone’s pocket and patience.

Then there’s the other market. These are listings that:

• Overreach on price, hoping to “test the waters.”

• Miss early buyer interest during the golden window (first 2 weeks).

• Sit stagnant, get stale, and eventually require price reductions.

• Often sell for less than they would have if priced correctly from the start.

In this market, time is not your friend. The longer a property sits, the more negotiating power shifts to the buyer.

💡 So, What’s the Takeaway?

Even in a slower market, homes are selling—and selling well—if they’re priced and marketed right. The key is understanding which market you want to be in: Priced to Sell or Priced to Sit?

Buyers are savvy, data-driven, and patient. They know a good deal when they see one. As a seller, your strategy needs to reflect that. I get it, you want to get as much as you can for your home, a home without a buyer may have value to you, but not to the one willing to part with their money!

🏡 Thinking of Selling in London, Ontario?

I provide the brutal truth and data-backed guidance to help you price your home to attract serious buyers and sell with confidence.

London and Area Home Sellers: You Only Have 3 Pricing Strategies — Which One Are You Choosing?

When it comes time to sell your home in London, Ontario, your pricing strategy will make or break your results. And no matter the market—sellers, buyers, or balanced—every seller has just three choices:
Price At the Market
Price Behind the Market
Price Ahead of the Market

Let’s break each one down, so you can decide which approach works for you—and what the consequences are

The problem with real estate advice is that there is an abundance of it. And free! What is free worth? Exactly!

When I searched for tips on selling your home, I got 697,000,000 results. That is 697 million how-tos. If you were an average reader, it would take you 110.4 years to read them all.

790,000,000 results for tips for buying a home. That would take you 126.1 years!

Now, here comes the scary part: add all the advice from relatives, neighbours, co-workers, Realtors, mortgage people and on and on. No wonder there is a problem of what is best for you!

You can read all you want, search websites, review YouTube, listen to economists or the weather person, but none of that is going to do you any good without common sense. My favourite Mark Twain quote: “The reason there is so much common sense in the world is that very few use it!”

Learning without action will not help. You can look at a terrain map all you want without hiking it; it matters little.

As a Realtor, I am not going to imply that I have all the answers, walk on water, or help old ladies cross the street. (I used to help old ladies cross the street, but as I got older, I didn’t want my wife to think I was flirting.?

There are three ‘P’s in real estate as a seller: Price, Product and Promotion. You, the seller, control the price and product. If you use a Realtor, the promotion should be their value-added involvement.

For buyers, contradictory and incongruent emotions, as well as punitive frugality, are detrimental to their purchasing decisions.

There Are Three Pricing Strategies

Price At the Market
Price Behind the Market
Price Ahead of the Market

Learn how any of those three will affect you!

Does pricing a London, Ontario home slightly high and then lowering the price work? I hear this all the time from home sellers: “Let us list it high because someone will offer us less”!

That thinking worked years ago, but in today’s real estate environment, homebuyers have a tremendous amount of information at their fingertips with just a few clicks. Today’s buyers know prices, and if you list a house or condo for sale in London, Ontario, at too high a price, it could cost you.

The Price

When a home seller interviews a Realtor, it’s easy to get caught up in the excitement of choosing a sales price. If a seller can obtain a higher price for the home, it means more financial opportunities for them. Unfortunately, uninformed sellers often choose the Realtor who tells them they will list it at the highest list price or, worse, the lowest commission. This is, by far, the worst mistake a home seller can make.

Establishing Value:

The reality is that it doesn’t matter how much money a home seller thinks their home is worth. The only people whose opinions matter are the buyer who will make an offer and the appraiser. Pricing a house is part science and part art. It involves comparing similar houses in the neighbourhood, making necessary adjustments for differences between them, charting market movements, and measuring housing inventory, all to help determine a value range.  This is the same method appraisers use to evaluate a house. No two appraisals are the same; they are, however, generally close to one another. There is no hard-and-fast way to determine a home's price in London, Ontario, and the surrounding area.

Is the Price Too Low?

Houses sell at a price a buyer is willing to pay, and a seller is willing to take. If a house is priced too low, the seller should expect multiple offers and can use them to drive the price to market value.  There is little risk in pricing a home below its actual value and your client's valuation. The danger is pricing a house or condo too high and having it sit on the market for weeks, even months.

How It Starts To Go Wrong

The home seller did not interview more than one Realtor. They may have chosen the first Realtor they found online because of their very low commission, or a friend or coworker recommended them.  The first Realtor priced their house at $795,000. After 90 days of sitting on the market, the listing expired.

It Continues To Go Wrong

The Realtor they hire lists the house for $775,000. A few weeks later, the price drops to $765,000, but no offers are made. A few people looked at the house, but no serious buyers came forward.

The Home Owner is Now Tired & Exhausted

The home seller and the Realtor then priced the home at $737,000, and it sold very quickly.  The sad part is that the comparable sales in the neighbourhood fully justified a price of $755,000, but the home had been on the market for too long at the wrong price, and now the market had slowed.

Protect Yourself

The question is, how much money does an expired listing cost the homeowner? The financial losses often exceed the extra mortgage payments made and extend beyond the cost or hassle of keeping a home spotless during the listing period. It affects the price a buyer ultimately pays because it is no longer a “fresh” listing.  It’s now stale, dated, a home that was overpriced for too long.

Don’t let it happen to you. Don’t be that seller of an expired listing.   Be sure to hire a professional Realtor to price your home correctly from the beginning.

When considering selling a condo in London, Ontario, in addition to the price and the Realtor you select to represent you, contact your condo corporation before listing it on the MLS.

99% of the time, when you and the buyer agree on the price, there will be a conditional clause that states that the buyer’s lawyer will have 7-10 days to review the status certificate provided by the condo management company.

The buyer’s lawyer is reviewing the corporation's financial status to determine whether there are any unpaid condo fees or assessments from you, and whether there are any infractions, such as a missing screen or an unauthorized addition, such as a deck, satellite dish, etc.

What is a status certificate?

You would be surprised at the number of hasty remedies and discussions that occur if a lawyer finds out some things that you were not aware of. To ensure a smooth sale, take the time and effort to identify any potential issues that could impact the final sale of your condo, whether it’s an apartment, townhouse, or other property in London, Ontario.

Be proactive, you may be glad you did!

To ensure a smoother process, we do this every day and have systems in place to prevent unforeseen issues.

Find out what a buyer would pay for your condo in this market