Few conversations are more uncomfortable for real estate agents than asking a seller to reduce the price of their home.
We know it may be the right recommendation. We know the market is speaking. But that conversation can just as easily damage trust if it’s not handled with care.
Sellers need to know that we’re not giving up, and they need to trust that a price adjustment is about the market, not about speeding up our commission.
Recently, I asked AI a simple question: “What’s the best way for a real estate agent to get a price reduction?” While much of the advice reinforces strategies I’ve used throughout my career, it also offers a few fresh perspectives that I hadn’t considered.
More importantly, it reminded me that successful price reduction conversations aren’t really about lowering the price. They’re about helping sellers accomplish their original goal.
How to get a price reduction
Here are the five biggest takeaways.
1. AI said: Start with the seller’s goal, not the asking price
The first recommendation AI gave me is one I completely agree with: Before discussing price, go back to the reason the seller listed the home in the first place. Instead of beginning the conversation with numbers, begin with purpose.
Ask a simple question: “Has your goal changed?”
Maybe they wanted to move before school started. Maybe they accepted a new job in another city. Maybe they were downsizing or moving closer to family. Whatever that original motivation was, bring it back into the conversation.
Once they’ve reaffirmed that the goal hasn’t changed, the discussion naturally shifts away from defending a price and toward achieving the outcome they told you they wanted. At that point, a price adjustment becomes one possible strategy for reaching the goal rather than the focus of the conversation itself.
2. AI said: Show the market’s response, not your opinion
The second recommendation AI made is to remove as much opinion from the conversation as possible, and let the market do the talking. One of the quickest ways to create resistance is by making the discussion feel like your opinion versus theirs. Instead, present the facts.
Show them:
- New competing listings
- Pending sales
- Recent closings
- Showing activity
- Buyer feedback
- Changes in inventory
During my listing career, I sent sellers video updates reviewing exactly what had happened in their market each Friday. By the time we needed to discuss pricing, they had already been watching the market evolve with me. Nothing came as a surprise.
People may disagree with opinions. It’s much harder to argue with facts.
3. AI said: Help sellers understand the cost of waiting
The third suggestion AI offered is one I don’t think we talk about enough as an industry: Help sellers understand what waiting actually costs them.
Most sellers immediately focus on what they’ll lose by reducing the price. Very few think about what it costs to wait.
- Mortgage payments
- HOA dues
- Insurance
- Utilities
- Maintenance
- Taxes
Those costs continue whether the home sells or not.
Sometimes a $20,000 price adjustment feels overwhelming until you show that waiting another four or five months could cost nearly the same amount or more, while still leaving them competing against new inventory.
Helping sellers understand both sides of the equation allows them to make a more informed decision instead of reacting emotionally to a single number.
4. AI said: Use buyer psychology instead of seller logic
One of my favorite recommendations from AI is encouraging agents to help sellers stop thinking like homeowners and start thinking like buyers. Pull up the four or five homes that buyers are most likely comparing against theirs. Then ask a simple question:
“If you were buying today, which home would you choose?”
This changes everything. Instead of debating whether their home is worth the asking price, you’re helping them see how buyers actually make decisions. Sometimes the issue isn’t just the price itself. It’s where the home appears in online search results.
For example, moving from $810,000 to $800,000 doesn’t simply lower the price. It may dramatically increase the number of buyers who see the home because it now appears in multiple search ranges. That’s strategic positioning, not simply discounting.
5. AI said: Present a strategy, not a price reduction
The final recommendation from AI may be my favorite because it aligned almost perfectly with the way I’ve approached these conversations throughout my career. Never present a price reduction by itself. Present a complete strategy.
A price adjustment should unlock an entirely new marketing plan. When sellers agree to reposition the price, explain everything that happens next.
That might include:
- Reaching the top of “recent price reduction” searches
- Contacting every agent who previously showed the home
- Launching new social media campaigns
- Sending direct mail to the neighborhood
- Updating email campaigns
- Refreshing photography
- Changing the featured image online
- Highlighting the home in new advertising
Now the conversation becomes: “Here’s everything we’re going to do because of this strategic repositioning.” The seller no longer feels like they’re simply lowering the price. They feel like they’re launching the next phase of a thoughtful marketing strategy. And that’s a conversation that builds trust instead of resistance.
The bottom line
What struck me most about AI’s recommendations is that none of them were really about convincing a seller to lower their price. They were about helping the seller make an informed decision based on facts, market conditions and, most importantly, the goals they shared with you from the very beginning.
The agents who consistently earn price reductions aren’t the ones with the best scripts or the strongest negotiating skills. They’re the ones who have built enough trust that their clients see them as advisors rather than salespeople. They educate instead of persuade. They lead with data instead of opinions. They present a strategy instead of simply asking for a lower price.
If there’s one lesson I took away from this exercise, it’s that a price reduction should never feel like a step backward. When handled correctly, it’s actually a strategic repositioning that creates new opportunities, renews buyer interest and moves the seller one step closer to achieving the reason they listed their home in the first place.
At the end of the day, sellers don’t hire us just to defend a price. They hire us to help them achieve a goal. When we keep that goal at the center of every conversation, we earn something far more valuable than a price reduction; we earn their trust.
