Every seller’s formula:
Purchase price + renovation costs + emotional attachment + financial needs = asking price.
The market’s formula:
What similar houses sold for last week.
These numbers rarely align, and you can guess which side wins.
Your kitchen renovation cost $80k.
Beautiful work. White quartz counters, high-end stainless steel appliances.
The market values it only $30k over the house with the dated kitchen.
That’s a $50k lesson in the gap between cost and value.
A relocating couple needs $950k for their next purchase.
Their house is worth $925k.
The market doesn’t care about their job transfer.
No buyer factors in the seller’s next mortgage.
Value isn’t determined by your circumstances.
This isn’t cruelty; it’s clarity.
The market is simply thousands of buyers, each with their own needs, budgets, and options.
They’re not calculating what you need—they’re calculating what they’ll pay.
Sellers who understand this and price accordingly sell quickly.
Those who don’t become cautionary tales—listings languishing for months while they argue with reality.
Your house tells your story.
But buyers will always write their own.