Why not price high? We can always come down.
Because the market reads a price cut as a confession. Your best offers come in the first two weeks. That's when the alert-driven buyers, the agents' shortlists, and the pent-up demand all see the listing at once. Price above that audience and they don't come lowball you. They don't come at all. The house sits, and the days-on-market counter becomes the first thing every buyer reads. The eventual cut then invites offers below where you'd have sold on day one.
I've watched that arc enough times to stop arguing with it: overpriced-then-cut nets less than priced-right — same house, same market.
The exception people are half-remembering: a truly one-of-a-kind property with no comps can test its ceiling, because its buyer isn't shopping on a schedule. A solid house in a normal neighborhood doesn't get that luxury. Price for the audience in week one — that's where your negotiating power actually lives.
I wrote this answer, and I stand behind it. I'm Chris Deutsch, a Minneapolis Realtor (MN #20382264). Twenty-five years of walking these neighborhoods, checking basements, and sitting across kitchen tables from people making exactly this call. I re-check every answer and date it — this one was last verified .
If your situation is more specific than the market, that's the one worth talking through. Email me at chris@lakesarearealty.com.