Your House Has Been Sitting for 60 Days. How Much Should You Cut the Price?

Sixty days on the market can change the conversation around a house. If buyers keep touring the property but nobody writes an offer, the asking price may have become the elephant in the living room.

That does not automatically mean a seller needs to slash the price by $50,000 and start panic-eating cookies. A better approach looks at comparable homes, recent buyer activity, competing listings, and the home’s current position in the market before choosing a new number.

Sixty Days Should Trigger a Serious Price Check

A house that sits for two months without an offer has given the market plenty of time to respond. Buyers have seen the listing, compared it with other homes, discussed the price with their agents, and often decided whether the property deserves a closer look. If showings remain strong but offers never appear, the price may sit above what buyers consider reasonable for the home’s condition and location. If showings barely happen, the asking price may sit outside the search ranges that attract likely buyers in the first place. Realtor.com reported in 2026 that sellers increasingly have adjusted prices sooner rather than letting listings linger, reflecting a market where buyers have more room to compare properties.

That makes 60 days a useful checkpoint, not an automatic markdown date. The seller should review every recent comparable sale, current competing listing, pending sale, showing pattern, and piece of buyer feedback before changing the price. A home that looks expensive beside three nearly identical properties needs a different strategy from a unique home that simply attracts a smaller pool of buyers. The goal should involve moving the property into a price range where today’s buyers actually shop, not merely choosing a round percentage because the calendar reached 60 days. NAR also recommends using recently sold, under-contract, and active comparable properties when developing a pricing strategy.

A 2% to 5% Cut Can Make Sense

For many sellers, a reduction of roughly 2% to 5% provides a reasonable starting point when the original price overshot the market slightly. NAR has highlighted 2% to 5% reductions as a range that can help renew buyer attention when a listing starts to linger. On a $500,000 listing, that means dropping the price by roughly $10,000 to $25,000 rather than making a dramatic cut without checking the evidence. That difference matters because a small-looking percentage can create a meaningful change in the property’s search position and perceived value.

The exact reduction should depend on how far the current price sits from the home’s realistic market range. Suppose similar houses now sell around $475,000 while the listing asks $500,000. A $5,000 reduction probably will not solve the problem because buyers can still see a sizable gap. In that situation, pricing closer to the competition may work better than performing a series of tiny reductions that leave the property looking perpetually overpriced. A meaningful adjustment should give buyers a reason to reconsider the listing, rather than simply announcing that the seller has moved the decimal point.

Look at What Buyers Do, Not Just What They Say

Buyer behavior can reveal more than a stack of polite showing comments. Lots of online views with very few showings can point toward a price problem, while plenty of showings followed by no offers can suggest that buyers like the house but dislike the overall value. A steady stream of second showings without an offer can also indicate that buyers see potential but want compensation for repairs, dated finishes, an awkward layout, or another concern. Those clues can help a seller decide whether to change the price, improve the presentation, or address a physical problem.

The listing itself deserves a fresh inspection, too. New photos, better staging, clearer descriptions, and small repairs can help, but cosmetic changes cannot rescue a price that sits far above comparable homes. NAR notes that location, size, amenities, condition, competition, and broader market conditions all influence a home’s asking price. A seller should also examine listings that recently went under contract because those homes can reveal what buyers currently accept, while older closed sales may reflect a market that no longer exists.

Do Not Make Five Tiny Price Cuts

A seller might think several small reductions look less painful than one larger adjustment. Buyers, however, can watch a listing’s price history, and repeated reductions may make the property look increasingly difficult to sell. That can invite bargain hunters who wonder how much farther the seller might move. A meaningful reduction can create a cleaner reset than a parade of $1,000 or $2,000 adjustments.

NAR’s 2025 analysis showed that average reductions increased as listings stayed on the market longer, with homes at 31 to 60 days showing an average reduction of 7.3% in the MLS data it presented. That figure does not mean every 60-day listing should receive a 7.3% haircut because local markets can behave very differently. Instead, it illustrates an important point: waiting longer can require a more substantial correction when the original price missed the market. Sellers should use local comparable properties to determine whether their listing needs a modest reset or a much larger repositioning.

Price Cuts Work Best When They Change the Listing’s Position

A price reduction should accomplish something beyond making the seller feel like something happened. If dropping from $525,000 to $520,000 leaves the home competing against nearly identical properties at $499,000 and $505,000, buyers may barely notice. Moving into a new search bracket can matter more because buyers often set maximum budgets before they begin scrolling through listings. The right reduction can therefore put the house in front of a fresh group of potential buyers.

Timing matters as well. Realtor.com reported that sellers in 2026 have been making first price reductions sooner than they did the previous year, with the national median sitting at 34 days among listings that received a cut. A seller who waits 60 days should therefore treat the next price change as a strategic reset rather than another experiment. Before making the change, the seller should decide what price would actually attract an offer and avoid immediately undoing the reduction if the first weekend feels quiet. Buyers need a reason to act, but they also need time to see and evaluate the new price.

The Right Cut Is the One That Gets Buyers Moving

A 60-day listing does not automatically deserve a huge discount, but it does deserve a brutally honest pricing review. For a home that sits only modestly above comparable properties, a 2% to 5% reduction may provide a sensible starting point, while a larger gap requires a more substantial adjustment. Sellers should compare the home against current competition, recent pending sales, showing activity, condition, and price history before choosing the new number. The strongest strategy usually focuses on where buyers will actually perceive value rather than how much money the seller wishes the property could bring. A house does not receive a bonus simply because the owner has waited longer to sell it.

The bigger lesson involves momentum. A listing that sits for months can become harder to sell because buyers may wonder why nobody else has made an offer, even when nothing terrible lurks behind the front door. A well-supported price adjustment can change that story by putting the property back into serious consideration instead of leaving it stranded in the online real estate wilderness. Before cutting the price, ask a simple question: If this house appeared on the market today at the new price, would buyers immediately see it as a strong option? If the answer is no, the price probably needs another look.

What do you think a seller should do after a house sits for 60 days without an offer: make a meaningful price cut, improve the property first, or hold firm and wait?