Last updated October 30, 2026
In 2026, St. Louis County houses that sold in their first two weeks were listed just under what comparable houses sold for, and buyers bid them above it. Houses that sat 60+ days started about 4% over comparable houses and finished about 5% under them. Overpricing doesn’t just cost time. It costs the money you were trying to get.
At what the comparable sales that actually won support, for the buyers shopping now. In 2026, County houses that sold within 14 days were listed at a median 97.1% of comparable houses’ price per square foot and sold at 101.0%. Pricing for the first two weeks →
In 2026, County houses that sat 60+ days were listed at a median 104.0% of comparable houses and sold at 94.6%. On a house worth $300,000, that’s about $19,000 less than pricing it right, plus about three months of carrying costs. The two paths in dollars →
Yes. In 2026, the 2,235 County sellers who never cut their price sold for a median 101.5% of their original list in a median 5 days, and 58.6% sold above asking. The 630 who cut sold for a median 91.6%, and only 15 got back to their original price. What a price cut gets you →
Not deliberately. The houses that sold fastest were listed at the comps, a median 97.1% of comparable houses, not far below them, and buyers took them above list. I price for the strongest reason to act, not to manufacture multiple offers. Underpricing vs. pricing at the comps →
Not by itself. In 2026 County sales, houses listed just under a $25,000 mark sold in a median 6 days and houses at or just over one sold in 7, with 60% of each selling within two weeks. Where the price sits against the comps matters more than how it ends. The price-ending numbers →
Not on that number alone. Ask what evidence is behind it and what happens if buyers don’t respond. In 2026, houses that started about 4% over comparable houses and sat sold about 5% under them. Choosing an agent by price →
No. Price it from the comparable sales that competed for the same buyers, adjusted for season and condition. The Zestimate in St. Louis →
When the first weekend tells you buyers chose other houses, not on an arbitrary day count. When to lower the price →
Source: 2026 MARIS MLS closed single-family sales in St. Louis County, January 1–October 5, 2026. Comparisons with comparable houses use 2,163 standard sales, each against the median price per square foot of at least 5 standard sales in the same school district, within 25% of its size and 15 years of its age.
Start from the comparable sales that won, and how they got there. A house that listed at $400,000, sat two months, cut twice and sold for $370,000 tells you something very different from one that listed at $375,000 and drew competition the first weekend. Then price for the buyers shopping now, against the houses they can buy instead of yours.
The 2026 County sales show what that looks like. Houses that sold within 14 days were listed just under comparable houses and sold just over them. The longer a house sat, the higher it had started and the lower it finished.
| Houses that… | Sales | Original list price vs. comparable houses | Sale price vs. comparable houses | Sale price vs. original list |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sold within 14 days | 1,231 | 97.1% | 101.0% | 103.2% |
| Sold in 15–30 days | 276 | 101.4% | 98.6% | 98.1% |
| Sat 31–60 days | 380 | 101.3% | 97.9% | 97.7% |
| Sat 61–90 days | 137 | 103.3% | 96.8% | 94.4% |
| Sat 90+ days | 137 | 105.8% | 91.2% | 90.1% |
That’s the core of my 5-Point No Regrets Pricing Strategy: find the price that gives the market the strongest reason to act, and show you every step of how we got there.
What price sells your house in the first two weeks?
Text me your address. I’ll send you the comparable sales that actually won, how they got there, and the price I’d list at to sell in the first two weeks, along with what it typically costs if the house sits. One text from me, not a team calling to book a listing appointment.
More than the time. Take a house whose comparable sales support $300,000. At the 2026 County medians, priced to sell it lists around $291,000 and sells around $303,000 in a few days. Priced high and left to sit 60+ days, it lists around $312,000 and sells around $284,000, three months later.
| Priced to sell | Priced high, sat 60+ days | |
|---|---|---|
| List price | About $291,000 (97.1% of comparable houses) | About $312,000 (104.0%) |
| Sale price | About $303,000 (101.0%) | About $284,000 (94.6%) |
| Time on market | Median 4 days | Median about 90 days |
| Difference | — | About $19,000 less, plus about three months of carrying costs |
That high number usually comes from somewhere: a Zestimate, a neighbor’s best sale, or the agent who quoted the most to win the listing. It’s the number you want to hear, and in 2026 it’s the path that ended below the comps. Should you hire the agent who says it’s worth the most? →
What does it cost to price high and sit?
Uses the 2026 St. Louis County medians in the table above: houses that sold within 14 days listed at 97.1% of comparable houses and sold at 101.0% in a median 4 days; houses that sat 60+ days listed at 104.0% and sold at 94.6% in a median of about 90 days, which is why months defaults to 3. It shows the typical pattern, not a prediction for your house.
Rarely all the way. A price cut brings buyers back, but it doesn’t rewind the market. The buyers who saw the house at the old price have already moved on or bought something else, and the new ones see how long it’s been listed.
| Sellers who… | Sales | Median sale vs. original list | Got back to their original price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Never cut the price | 2,235 | 101.5% | — |
| Cut the price | 630 | 91.6% | 15 of 630 |
The time to get the price right is before the first weekend. If the house is already listed and buyers are choosing other houses, the question is when to adjust and by how much. When to lower your price →
Not on purpose. Pricing at the comps already draws the competition: 66.8% of County houses that sold within 14 days in 2026 went above their original list. Pricing far below the comps to manufacture multiple offers can leave money on the table if only one buyer shows up, and it’s not something I do to brag about offer counts.
From one of my sales: A Fenton house listed at $295,000 in November drew about 20 showings and three offers at $300,000, and a cash buyer’s escalation clause took it to $302,000 with no repair requests. It was priced at what the comps supported, in the slowest season, and buyers did the rest. Read the sale →
Not in the 2026 data. Of County houses listed between $150,000 and $750,000, the ones listed just under a $25,000 mark ($299,900, $324,900 and so on) sold in a median 6 days, and the ones at or just over a mark sold in 7. In both groups, 60% sold within two weeks, and both sold at about 100% of their original list.
Search filters do matter at the edges: a buyer who caps a search at $300,000 won’t see a house at $305,000. But the price ending can’t rescue a house priced over its comps, and a house priced at its comps sells either way.
Pricing isn’t the only reason houses sit. Some of the houses that sat had problems the data can’t see: a busy road, a wet basement, poor photos, a seller who wasn’t ready to move. So part of the gap between the fast and slow houses is the house, not just the price. The direction held at every step, though: the longer houses sat, the higher they had started and the lower they finished.
The comparison also uses medians across the County. Your price comes from the few sales that competed for the same buyers as your house, adjusted for its condition and the season. What your house is worth before you repair anything →
When the comps are hard
Weigh when they sold and what buyers are doing now. One Lindbergh split-level had only spring comps to go on. Pricing with stale comps →
Carefully. Spring sales carry the most buyers, so a winter price built only on them can miss the first weekend. Selling in fall and winter →
After you set the price
Subtract commissions, title, taxes, payoff and any credits. The net sheet walks through each line. What will I net? →
In 2026, County houses that sold after more than 90 days got a median 88% of their original list price. Days on market and price cuts →
This is one piece of the St. Louis home buying process. See how it all fits together:
📚 Complete St. Louis Buyer Guide →Thinking about selling? Text me your address and I’ll send the price that sells in the first two weeks. One text from me, not a team booking a listing appointment. Get my price →
Grew up in South St. Louis, lived in Dogtown for 6 years, now in South County. You'll find us at Wellspring on Lindbergh on Sundays. I'm not selling you a house — I'm showing you how to think about buying or selling a house.
One text, email, or call is all it takes to put that experience to work for you.
Questions about what you are reading? I answer personally — no team, no handoff.