A conversation I had this week

A buyer said something that made my stomach turn — not because it's rare, but because it's normalised.

"Two months in. One viewing. Locked into a 20-week contract. And apparently the only option is… 'reduce the price'."

Let's translate that into plain English:

• The property hasn't been properly exposed to the market

• The agent isn't being held accountable for the price they "quoted"

• The seller is trapped

• And now the easiest move (for the agent) is being presented as the only move (for the seller)

Pricing matters (but so does leverage)

Pricing is one of the most important parts of selling a home.

But if you sign a long tie-in contract, you lose leverage. And when you lose leverage, the conversation often becomes very simple, very quickly:

"Reduce the price."

The contract is where urgency disappears

A 20-week tie-in is basically this:

• If the agent performs brilliantly, they still get paid

• If the agent performs badly, they still keep the instruction

• If the market changes, you carry the risk

• If you want to switch strategy or switch agent, you can't

"Reduce the price" isn't a strategy

Sometimes a price reduction is the right call. But when it's the first (or only) suggestion after weeks of nothing happening, it usually means one of two things:

1. The launch was weak — bad positioning, poor urgency, wrong buyer pool, no plan

2. The original price was a "win the instruction" number, not a market-tested number

Either way, the seller ends up paying for it.

If an agent quotes a price, make them own it

When an agent tells you what your home is "worth", don't just nod. Ask the questions that force accountability:

1. What has to happen in the first 14 days for that price to be realistic?

2. How many viewings are you targeting, and by when?

3. What's the plan if we don't hit those numbers?

4. What exactly will you change before you touch the price?

5. What are the break clauses, and when can I leave if performance isn't there?

If they can't answer clearly, you're not getting a strategy. You're getting hope.

The rule

If you're thinking of selling: don't sign a long contract. Ever.

A good agent should be confident enough to earn your trust with performance, not paperwork.

Warm regards, Alex Carringtons