Why Won't That Seller Drop Their Price? What Buyers Need to Know About Overpriced Homes

You’ve been browsing listings for weeks. You spot a house that looks perfect on paper. Then you notice it’s been sitting on the market for over a year. The price hasn’t moved. Not even a dollar.

You’re not the only one scratching your head.

A recent Reddit thread in r/RealEstate asked the exact question thousands of buyers are thinking right now: “Why do certain people refuse to lower the price of their house if it’s been sitting there for over a year?” The original poster described a $700,000 home in their neighborhood that has lingered on the market without a single price adjustment. The post generated hundreds of comments from agents, buyers, and sellers who have seen the same thing play out in their own markets.

The reality is more nuanced than “stubborn seller.” Understanding why sellers hold firm on price gives you a strategic advantage as a buyer. It also reveals when an overpriced listing is actually an opportunity in disguise.

The Psychology Behind the Stubbornness

Selling a home is one of the most emotionally charged financial decisions a person can make. When a seller refuses to lower their price despite months of no offers, at least one of these psychological forces is usually at work.

Anchoring bias is the big one. Once a seller sees a certain number, whether from a Zillow estimate, a neighbor’s recent sale, or a poorly advised listing price, that number becomes their mental anchor. Every dollar below it feels like a loss, even if the anchor was unrealistic from the start.

Loss aversion compounds the problem. Behavioral economists have shown that the pain of losing money is roughly twice as powerful as the pleasure of gaining the same amount. A seller who paid $650,000 for a home five years ago and lists at $700,000 may genuinely be unable to process accepting $620,000, even if that’s what the market dictates.

Sunk cost fallacy enters the picture when renovations are involved. A seller who spent $80,000 on a kitchen remodel expects to get that money back, even though kitchen renovations typically return only 50% to 70% of their cost at resale. Every dollar spent on upgrades inflates their internal price anchor.

They Don’t Actually Need to Sell

This was one of the most common explanations in the Reddit discussion, and it’s worth taking seriously. Many of the homes that sit on the market for 12 months or longer belong to sellers who fall into specific categories.

Owners who already moved. They bought their next home before selling the current one. The mortgage is covered, so there’s no monthly pressure. They can afford to wait.

Estate and inheritance properties. When a home is inherited, the heirs often have no mortgage, no urgency, and wildly different opinions about value. Getting three siblings to agree on a price reduction is harder than getting Congress to agree on anything.

Investors testing the market. Some sellers list a property at a high price just to see if anyone bites. They treat the listing like a fishing expedition rather than a committed sale. If nothing happens, they pull it down, wait six months, and relist.

Underwater sellers. In some cases the seller literally cannot afford to lower the price. If they owe $680,000 on a home worth $650,000, they would need to bring cash to closing. Dropping the price isn’t stubbornness. It’s math.

When a Bad Agent Is Part of the Problem

Not every overpriced listing is the seller’s fault. Some of the most experienced voices in the Reddit thread pointed the finger at listing agents who either set unrealistic expectations at the start or lacked the courage to have tough conversations later.

A good listing agent walks a seller through a comparative market analysis before the home hits the market. They show recent sales of similar homes within a tight radius. They explain why the neighbor’s home sold for more (newer roof, updated bathrooms, better lot). And if the home isn’t generating showings after 30 days, a good agent initiates the price reduction conversation immediately.

A bad listing agent tells the seller what they want to hear to win the listing. “Sure, let’s try $700,000 and see what happens.” Three months later that agent is still “seeing what happens” while the listing grows stale.

Here’s a critical data point every buyer should know: according to the National Association of REALTORS®, homes that undergo a price reduction after 30 or more days on market ultimately sell for an average of 5% to 8% less than their original list price. In contrast, homes priced correctly from day one sell within 3% of asking. Overpricing doesn’t just delay a sale. It costs the seller real money.

What Days on Market Actually Tells You

When you see a listing that’s been active for 200, 300, or 400+ days, your instinct might be to run. But experienced buyers and their agents know that high days on market can signal opportunity.

A stale listing attracts less competition. Other buyers have already passed on it, which means you may be the only offer on the table. That’s leverage.

However, you need to understand why it’s been sitting. The reasons break down roughly like this.

Overpriced for the condition. The home needs work and the price doesn’t reflect it. This is the most common scenario and the most negotiable.

Location issues. Backing up to a highway, near a power station, or in a flood zone. No price reduction fixes a deal-breaking location.

Title or legal complications. Liens, boundary disputes, or estate issues that make the transaction risky. Your agent can uncover these before you waste time.

Showing restrictions. Some sellers make it nearly impossible to see the home, requiring 48-hour notice or blocking weekend showings. Fewer eyeballs means fewer offers.

A skilled buyer’s agent can dig into the listing history, find out how many price reductions have already occurred, check how many times it’s been relisted, and determine whether the current asking price is approaching fair market value.

How to Make an Offer on an Overpriced Home

If you’ve found an overpriced listing that you actually want, the approach matters enormously. Here’s how experienced agents handle it.

Lead with data, not emotion. Your offer should come with a clear comparative market analysis attached. Show the seller what similar homes have actually sold for. This removes the personal element and reframes the negotiation around facts.

Don’t lowball aggressively. A seller who has refused to drop their price for a year has already demonstrated that they respond to perceived insults by digging in. An offer at 60% of asking will get rejected without a counter. An offer at 85% to 90% of fair market value (not asking price) signals seriousness while still protecting your interests.

Include a personal letter carefully. In some markets, a buyer letter explaining why you love the home can soften a stubborn seller. In others, it’s ignored. Your agent will know the local norms.

Make the inspection contingency reasonable. Sellers who have been sitting for months are paranoid about deals falling through. A shorter inspection period (7 to 10 days instead of 14) shows commitment without giving up protection.

Be prepared to walk away. This is your strongest tool. A seller who has been on the market for a year knows, deep down, that offers are rare. Your willingness to walk away often brings them back to the table within 48 hours.

The Relisting Trick (and Why You Should Watch For It)

One tactic you’ll see repeatedly is the relist. A seller takes the home off the market for a few weeks, then relists it. This resets the days on market counter on most listing platforms, making the home appear “new” again.

Savvy buyers and agents know how to spot this. Tools like Redfin and Zillow show listing history, including previous periods on market. If a home was listed for 180 days, withdrawn for two weeks, and relisted at the same price, the market has already spoken.

In the Reddit thread, multiple commenters noted seeing the same homes relisted three or four times over two years. Each time the seller hopes for a different result without changing the price. This rarely works. Repeat buyers in the neighborhood remember the listing. Local agents flag it as a stale property. And the internet never forgets.

When Overpriced Homes Finally Sell

Here’s what the data shows about homes that sit on the market for extended periods.

The median days on market nationally is approximately 60 days as of early 2026. Any home sitting beyond 90 days is officially stale in most markets. Beyond 180 days, sellers typically face one of three outcomes.

Scenario one: They eventually reduce the price by 10% to 15% and sell. This is the most common resolution. It often happens when a life event (new job, divorce, financial pressure) forces their hand.

Scenario two: They pull the listing entirely and stay in the home. Many sellers who refused to budge simply decide not to sell. The home disappears from the market and may not return for years.

Scenario three: The market catches up. In rapidly appreciating areas, a home that was 10% overpriced in 2025 might be fairly priced by 2027. This is the outcome every stubborn seller is secretly hoping for, but it requires patience that most can’t afford.

What This Means for Buyers in 2026

If you’re house hunting in a market with rising inventory, you’re going to see more overpriced listings. Sellers who locked in 3% mortgage rates during the pandemic are reluctant to sell because they don’t want to lose that rate. When they do list, they want a price that compensates for the rate they’re giving up.

This creates a gap between seller expectations and buyer reality. Buyers looking at 6.5% to 7% mortgage rates can’t afford to overpay for a home. They need every dollar of purchase price to be justified.

The result is a standoff. And the homes in the middle of that standoff sit on the market for months.

Your best move as a buyer is to work with a real estate agent who understands local pricing dynamics, can identify which overpriced homes are negotiable, and knows how to structure offers that get stubborn sellers to the closing table. The difference between an average agent and a great one often comes down to exactly this skill: turning a stale listing into a deal that works for both sides.

The Bottom Line

Sellers refuse to lower their price for real reasons: emotional attachment, financial constraints, bad advice, or simply no urgency to sell. Understanding which reason applies to a specific listing helps you decide whether to engage, negotiate, or walk away.

The overpriced home sitting on your street for a year isn’t necessarily a bad home. It might be a great home with an unrealistic seller. And with the right agent in your corner, that seller’s stubbornness could become your opportunity.