Two homes. Same neighborhood. Similar price. Very different results.

One home hits the market, generates strong showing activity, attracts an offer and goes under contract.

Another gets plenty of online views, a few showings, maybe even some positive feedback—but weeks later, it's still sitting on the market.

What's the difference?   Usually, it's not luck. It's strategy.

And that strategy matters even more in today's changing real estate market.

🏡 Today's Buyers Have More Choices

The market has changed.

Minnesota had more than 20,000 homes for sale in August 2026, up more than 10% from a year earlier and remaining at a seven-year inventory high. Homes took an average of 51 days to sell statewide and 45 days in the Twin Cities metro.

But here's what's important:

Home prices didn't collapse.

Minnesota's median sales price actually increased 2.8% year over year to $370,000, while the Twin Cities median increased 1.3% to $405,000.

This isn't necessarily a bad market for sellers.

It's a market that's becoming less forgiving of poor strategy.

Buyers have more choices. They're taking more time. They're comparing homes more carefully.

So how do you make sure your home is one they choose?

🔥 1. Your First 7–14 Days Matter

One of the biggest mistakes a seller can make is thinking:

"Let's start high. We can always lower the price later."

Technically, you can.

Strategically, it can be costly.

When your home first hits the market, you have something you can't recreate later:

The excitement of being NEW.

Buyers who have been searching for weeks may receive an alert the moment your property becomes available.

Agents see it.

Potential buyers see it.

People save it, share it and compare it with other homes.

That's your opportunity to create urgency.

The question isn't simply:

"How high can we list?"

A better question is:

"How do we position the home so buyers don't want to miss it?"

That's a very different strategy.

💰 2. PRICE: The Market Determines Value

Your neighbor may have sold for $600,000.

You may have invested $75,000 into your home.

An online valuation may say $625,000.

And you may need $600,000 to make your next move work.

All of those things can influence your expectations.

But they don't determine what a buyer will pay.

The market determines value.

And the list price is simply a tool we use to position your home within that market.

That's an important distinction:

List Price ≠ Market Value ≠ Final Sales Price

Pricing too high can create a predictable cycle:

Overpricing → Fewer Showings → Longer Market Time → Price Reduction → Buyer Questions → Reduced Leverage

Lakeville provides a good example of how nuanced today's market has become. Over the three months ending August, the median sales price was about $510,000, up 1.9% year over year, and the average home sold around list price. Yet 41.8% of homes had a price drop.

Some homes are performing extremely well.

Others are adjusting.

You don't want to chase the market. You want the market chasing your home.

📸 3. POSITIONING: Buyers Decide Online First

Years ago, buyers might have driven through neighborhoods looking for signs.

Today, the first showing usually happens on a phone.

Before a buyer walks through your front door, they've already formed an opinion from:

📷 Photography
🎥 Video
🏡 Curb appeal
🛋️ Staging
💡 Lighting
🎨 Paint colors
🧹 Cleanliness
📐 Room presentation
💻 Online presentation

And they're not viewing your home in isolation.

They're comparing it to everything else available in the same price range.

Imagine a buyer has six homes saved on their phone and only has time to tour four.

Why does yours make the cut?

That's positioning.

You don't necessarily need the newest kitchen or the largest house.

You need to make your home the obvious choice compared with its competition.

👀 4. Buyers Notice What Sellers Stop Seeing

You've probably walked through your front door thousands of times.

Because you see your home every day, you naturally stop noticing certain things.

A buyer doesn't.

They notice the peeling paint around the front door.

They notice the overgrown shrubs.

They notice the burned-out lightbulb.

They notice the cluttered kitchen counter.

They notice the carpet.

They notice odors.

They notice deferred maintenance.

They notice the dated light fixture you've walked underneath for 12 years without thinking twice about it.

Try the 30-Second Buyer Test

Walk outside.

Stand at the street.

Then approach your home as though you've never seen it before.

Open the front door.

Look around for 30 seconds.

What does the house communicate?

Clean?

Bright?

Updated?

Well maintained?

Move-in ready?

Or...

Work?

Expense?

Projects?

Neglect?

Buyers begin forming their opinion almost immediately.

📣 5. EXPOSURE: The MLS Isn't the Entire Marketing Plan

Putting a home in the MLS is important.

But here's the problem:

Nearly every professionally listed home is in the MLS.

So simply being listed doesn't differentiate your property.

A better question for a seller to ask is:

"What are we doing beyond the MLS to create demand for my home?"

At iMetro Property, our marketing strategy can include professional photography, cinematic video, social media, YouTube, Google advertising, targeted digital marketing, database marketing and additional property exposure.

Why does exposure matter?

Because ultimately we want to create:

More Exposure → More Buyer Interest → More Showings → More Potential Offers → Greater Negotiating Leverage

There is never a guarantee of multiple offers.

But the objective is simple:

Don't wait for the buyer to find the house. Help the house find the buyer.

🤝 6. NEGOTIATION Starts Before the Offer Arrives

Most sellers think negotiation starts when I call and say:

"We received an offer."

It doesn't.

Negotiation started before the home ever went on the market.

Think about two scenarios.

Seller A

The home has been listed 67 days.

Two price reductions.

Few recent showings.

No other interested buyers.

Then an offer arrives.

Seller B

The home has been listed six days.

Strong showing activity.

Several buyers have expressed interest.

Another showing is scheduled tomorrow.

Then an offer arrives.

Which seller has more leverage?

Seller B.

That's why great negotiation isn't simply about what happens across the table after an offer arrives.

Great negotiation begins by creating a position of strength.

📊 7. Don't Automatically Blame the Market

When a property isn't selling, it's easy to say:

"The market is slow."

Maybe.

But before reaching that conclusion, we need to look at the evidence.

Ask four questions:

1. Are buyers seeing the property online?

If not, we may have an exposure problem.

2. Are buyers seeing it online but not scheduling showings?

That can indicate a price or positioning problem.

3. Are buyers touring the home but not writing offers?

Now we need to investigate price, condition, presentation and buyer feedback.

4. Are we receiving offers but can't put a deal together?

Then we may have a pricing, terms or negotiation issue.

This is why I don't believe in simply putting a home on the MLS and waiting.

The market is constantly giving us information.

Our job is to listen to it.

🚨 The Most Dangerous Phrase in Real Estate

There is one sentence I think sellers should be very careful with:

"Let's just try it at this price."

Because the market doesn't know you're trying a price.

Buyers simply see a home they believe is overpriced.

And while you're testing the market, competing homes may be going under contract.

Days on market accumulate.

The listing loses its newness.

Eventually, you reduce the price.

But now buyers may wonder:

"What's wrong with it?"

That's why pricing isn't about choosing the highest number we think we can get away with.

It's about determining the price and strategy most likely to create the best overall outcome.

🎯 The iMetro Property PPEN Strategy

This is why we approach selling through four interconnected components:

💰 PRICE

Position the home where buyers recognize value and are motivated to act.

🏡 POSITIONING

Prepare and present the property so it stands out against competing homes.

📣 EXPOSURE

Create maximum qualified buyer awareness through a comprehensive marketing strategy—not simply MLS exposure.

🤝 NEGOTIATION

Use buyer interest, market information and experience to negotiate the strongest combination of price and terms available.

Pricing. Positioning. Exposure. Negotiation.

They aren't separate strategies.

They work together.

🏆 The Goal Isn't Simply to List Your Home

There's a major difference between listing a home and marketing a home to sell.

In today's market, sellers need more than a sign in the yard, photos online and hope.

They need a strategy.

Minnesota Realtors® reports that sellers across the Twin Cities received an average of 98.2% of their original list price in August, while buyers benefited from more inventory, more decision time and greater negotiating room.

That makes getting the strategy right from the beginning even more important.

Because the goal isn't:

"Let's put it on the market and see what happens."

The goal is:

Price it right.

Position it right.

Expose it right.

Negotiate it right.

It's not luck. It's strategy.

🏠 Thinking About Selling?

Before you put a sign in the yard, let's determine how your home would compete in today's market.

I'll help you look at your property's likely market value, competing homes, recent sales, current buyer activity and what could help your home stand out.

Matt Ebbighausen
Broker | Owner
iMetro Property Real Estate

Real Estate. Real Results. The iMetro Way.

Buy. Sell. Build. Invest.

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