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One of the most common things I hear from sellers is:
“But that house sold for more — why can’t we?”
It’s a fair question. Past sales do matter. But they are not always what determines whether a home sells — or what it sells for.
In practice, most properties sell based on what is actively on the market at the time, not what sold months ago under different conditions.
Buyers Shop What They Can Buy — Not What’s Already Gone
When buyers are looking, they compare homes they can:
See right now
Book showings on
Make offers on today
A sale from six months ago may provide background, but it is no longer competition. Buyers can’t buy it. What they can buy are the homes currently listed — and that’s where price and value are judged.
If a home is priced higher than similar active listings, buyers don’t wait for the market to catch up. They simply move on to the next option.
Why Past Sales Aren’t Always Reliable Benchmarks
Past sales reflect the market conditions at that moment in time:
Interest rates
Inventory levels
Buyer urgency
Seasonality
Local competition
Those conditions change — sometimes quickly.
A home that sold during a period of low inventory or strong urgency may not be comparable if today’s market offers more choice or more cautious buyers. That doesn’t mean the market is weak — it means it’s different.
Active Listings Set the Real Price-Value Range
When a property sells, it’s usually because it fits within the current price-value range buyers are seeing.
Buyers ask themselves:
How does this compare to the other homes I’ve seen?
Does the price make sense given condition and location?
Is this the best option available right now?
This is especially true in the Battlefords. With a smaller buyer pool, decisions are very comparison-driven. Buyers don’t overpay because something sold higher in the past — they choose the best value among today’s options.
What This Means for Sellers
Pricing based only on past sales can lead to missed opportunities. If a home is positioned above the current market, buyers may not engage at all — which means no showings, no feedback, and no real test of value.
Homes that sell tend to be:
Priced in line with active competition
Honest about condition and location
Aligned with current buyer expectations
This isn’t about underpricing. It’s about pricing with awareness.
The Bottom Line
A property sells when its price makes sense in today’s market, not yesterday’s.
Understanding what’s active — and how buyers compare options — is often the difference between a home that sells and one that waits.
That’s not theory.
That’s how buyers actually behave.
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