How Long A House Should Be On The Market Before You Reduce The Price

If your house has been sitting on the market in The Bahamas with little to no interest, it’s normal to start wondering: Should we lower the price?

Even in a fast-moving market like ours, where demand is strong and well-priced homes often get snapped up, pricing still matters. We see this play out every week at ERA Dupuch Real Estate.

But, if you’re not seeing any (or negligible) traction — no calls, no showings, no offers — it’s time to investigate. 

Remember, this is not a call for panic but introspection.

That’s exactly where we come in. At ERA Dupuch, we don’t just put a sign in your yard and hope for the best. We walk our sellers through this process strategically, using data from our listing platforms, feedback from buyers, and real-world insight from decades of experience.

In this guide, we’ll show you how to read the early signals, what to check before touching your price, and how we help sellers stay in control. 

TL;DR: How Long Should a House Be on the Market Before You Reduce the Price?

• If your home isn’t getting interest within the first 30–45 days, it’s time to review your listing.
• No offers by 60 days? It may be time to adjust the price, but only after evaluating photos, marketing, timing, and buyer feedback.
• A smart price drop, paired with a listing refresh, can reignite interest, but the best move is pricing it right the first time.

What Early Market Signals Tell You, And What They Don’t

When your home first hits the market, the first two weekends (around 30–45 days) often give the clearest sense of how buyers are responding.

That’s the peak moment of visibility. Your listing is fresh, agents are watching, and active buyers are scanning for new options. If your home is going to make an impression, it usually starts here.

So what should you look for?

• Are people calling to book showings?
• Are you getting decent foot traffic, but no follow-ups?
• Or has it been strangely quiet since day one?

These are all signals, but they don’t always mean the same thing.

Sometimes, a quiet spell just means you launched during a lull (holiday weekends can do that). Other times, the photos didn’t do the home justice, or the listing headline didn’t quite hit. 

It’s easy to assume it’s the price, but that’s not always the case.

Common Reasons a Home Doesn’t Attract Offers

If your listing has been sitting without much attention, price might be one factor, but it’s rarely the only one.

In our experience, several common culprits can stall momentum, even in a strong market:

Weak Photos

The first impression most buyers get is online, and if the photos are dark, cluttered, or poorly framed, many will scroll right past. Great homes can underperform simply because they weren’t shown in their best light.

Limited Marketing

If your listing isn’t catching the eye of prospective buyers, you can’t possibly sell it. That includes everything from where it’s listed to how it’s promoted across social media, email alerts, agent networks, and more.

Poor Staging or Clutter

Even the most spacious homes can feel smaller (or less appealing) when they’re filled with too much furniture or personal items. Staging helps buyers picture themselves living there without you blocking the view.

Mistimed Launch

Listing at the wrong time, like during off-peak travel seasons, holiday weekends, or even the middle of a week, can result in less visibility during that crucial first window.

Before making any pricing changes, we always take a close look at all of this with our sellers. Sometimes, a quick update such as better photos, a stronger marketing push, or a little decluttering is all it takes to turn things around.

Only after we’ve ruled out these other factors do we have the conversation about adjusting the asking price. And even then, we treat that as a strategy instead of a scramble.

So, How Do You Know You Really Need To Cut the Price

When a listing hits the market and just stalls, it’s easy to start thinking the price must be too high. But before making that call, it’s worth digging into the data, because the numbers usually tell a clearer story than our instincts.

When a seller asks us, “Do you think we’re priced too high?” here’s what we look at:

Are People Showing Up?

We start with the basics: how many showings have there been? Are agents calling to ask questions, book appointments, or share feedback? If foot traffic is strong but buyers keep walking away, it might not be the price. 

It could be the presentation, staging, or something about the home itself. On the other hand, if no one’s coming through the door at all, that’s a different kind of signal.

What Are Buyers Saying?

Buyer feedback, even offhand comments, can be incredibly valuable. Perhaps they loved the view but felt it was overpriced compared to others they had seen. Maybe they were hoping for a more modern kitchen at that price point. We listen closely to everything.

What Else Is on the Market?

Context matters. If your home is priced $100K above a nearly identical listing down the road, and that one’s getting all the attention, that tells us something. And if multiple properties are sitting, it could be a broader market shift at play.

What the Online Data Reveals

These days, one of the most useful diagnostic tools we have is the analytics from your online listing. Here’s the kind of data we look at (and share with our sellers):

• Page views:  Are many people looking at the listing, or has interest tapered off?
• Saves or favourites:  Are people marking it to come back to, or are they passing it by?
• Click-through rates:  Is your home catching attention in search results, or being overlooked?

These patterns often give us an early heads-up, sometimes before the seller even realises momentum is slowing. We keep an eye on all of it and talk it through together so you don’t have to second-guess or rely on your gut feelings. 

Because sometimes, yes, it is the price. And other times? It’s something much easier to fix.

When Should You Actually Reduce the Price?

So let’s say your listing has been live for a few weeks. You’ve had a few views, maybe some light interest, but no serious bites. When is it time to make a move?

In general, here’s the timeline we tend to follow:

• If there’s no real engagement after 30 to 45 days, no calls, no showings, it’s worth reviewing everything: marketing, staging, photos, and yes, price.
• If your house has been on the market for around 45 to 60 days with no offers and no strong buyer signals, it’s usually time to consider a price reduction.

That 60-day mark isn’t a hard rule, because timing a price change right matters!

Drop the price too early, and buyers may wonder what’s wrong or assume you’re desperate. Wait too long, and your listing risks going stale, especially in markets where new inventory is constantly cycling in.

So… how long should a home sit on the market in The Bahamas?

It depends. Some areas move faster than others. If your home is in one of those fast-moving areas and it’s still sitting quiet for a month? That’s a stronger signal that something needs to shift.

In Nassau, for example, well-priced homes in high-demand communities like Delaporte and Cable Beach often sell in under 60 days. Others, such as larger estate homes or properties in quieter locations, may take 90 to 120 days or more, as shown in the chart below.

Explore Top Gated Communities in The Bahamas

How Much Should You Reduce, and How Often?

If a price adjustment is the right move, it’s important to make it count.

A reduction that’s too small, say, $5,000 on a $1M listing, likely won’t change how the home appears in search filters, and probably won’t shift buyer perception either.

So how much should you reduce?

In our market, we typically recommend a single, strategic reduction of 3% to 7%, depending on the price point and urgency. This type of drop normally places the listing in a new bracket, making it visible to a new pool of buyers.

For example, if your home is listed at $1,030,000 and most buyers are searching with a cap of $1 million, it may not even show up in their results. But bringing it down to $999,000 suddenly opens the door to a much wider audience, without materially changing the value of your property.

⚠️ Avoid reducing the price too often. A string of small, repeated cuts can make the listing feel stale, and worse, signal desperation, even if that’s not the case.

Buyers watch listings closely. If they see a home go from $1.1M to $1.095M to $1.085M, they’ll start to wonder: “What’s wrong with it?” It becomes less about the property and more about the price history.

Lower the Price Strategically to Relaunch the Interest

A simple markdown may not achieve much. A well-timed price adjustment works best when it’s part of a bigger refresh.

We think of it like reintroducing your home to the market with a new look, new energy, and a clear reason for buyers to take a fresh look.

Here are a few ways to make that moment count:

Update the visuals

Swap in fresh photos, ideally with better lighting, new angles, or after a bit of decluttering or restaging. Even minor changes can help a listing stand out again.

Consider staging

If your home is vacant or feeling a bit tired, light staging can go a long way. A few thoughtfully placed pieces and a clean, cohesive look can completely change how buyers feel when they walk in.

Refresh the headline and listing copy

Buyers tend to skim, and a new headline or updated description can catch the eyes of those who passed it by the first time. Emphasise what’s new, or what’s now more attainable at the new price point.

Boost the marketing

We often recommend re-promoting the listing across key channels when a price drop occurs, such as MLS alerts, social media, email lists, agent networks, and more. A good price drop will only do so much if people see it.

Learn how ERA Dupuch Real Estate Markets Your Listing

Time it right

Coordinate the relaunch before a high-traffic time, like ahead of a weekend or just before an open house. That way, the new price isn’t just a number change; it’s a whole new chapter in the listing’s life.

The Best Way to Avoid Reductions? Price It Right the First Time

No one wants to reduce the price. Not because it’s a failure but because chasing the market downward is rarely the most efficient (or stress-free) path.

The best way to avoid that situation? Start with a strategy.

At ERA Dupuch, we don’t guess or go with gut feelings. We take the time upfront to analyse your home’s value in the current market, using recent comps, buyer behaviour, DOM data for similar listings, and the nuances that don’t always show up in spreadsheets (like views, lot size, or the uniqueness of the home).

We also factor in timing, marketing conditions, and buyer psychology, because even a great home, if listed at the wrong moment or in the wrong bracket, can underperform.

Here are a few ways we set sellers up for success from day one:

• Reviewing active and recently sold comps together
• Looking at online search filters and buyer behaviour patterns
• Considering island-specific DOM trends
• Prepping the home with photos, staging, and a clean digital footprint
• Having a plan in place in case adjustments are needed later
• We’d rather help you price it right from the start than have to course-correct later. And, you don’t have to worry about underpricing your property. Think of it as finding the number that invites the most interest, creates competition, and ultimately delivers the best outcome.

Grab Our Pricing Guide To Learn How To Price Your Property Right

Properties in The Bahamas sell fast, so if yours is not moving as quickly as expected, it’s time to review your listing and consider a price adjustment as a strategic approach, rather than a shot in the dark.

If your home isn’t getting the traction you hoped for, let’s take a look together. We’ll review what’s happening (or not happening) and help you decide what makes sense next. 

At ERA Dupuch Real Estate, we’ve walked through this exact moment with hundreds of sellers for many different types of properties. And, we’re always happy to talk things through, even if you’re just exploring your options.

If you’re ready to take a fresh look at your listing or start with a strong plan from the beginning, reach out to us or order a home valuation right away.

FAQs

Should I take my listing down and relist at a lower price?

It depends. Sometimes a strategic relaunch with a fresh MLS ID can help reset interest, but it also resets your DOM count. We only recommend this approach if there’s a compelling reason, and we’ll walk you through the pros and cons first.

If I drop the price, can I raise it again later if interest picks up?

Technically, yes, but buyers track price history. Frequent changes can hurt credibility. That’s why we recommend making one thoughtful, well-timed reduction instead of making multiple, inconsistent ones.

What if I’m not in a rush to sell? Should I still consider a price cut?

If time is on your side, you may have more flexibility. But if your listing sits too long without movement, it can still go stale. We can help sellers weigh the tradeoffs between waiting it out and making a move.

Can I make improvements instead of reducing the price?

Absolutely. Sometimes, a few key upgrades (like painting, light staging, or landscaping) can boost appeal more effectively than a price cut. We can help you decide what’s likely to deliver the best return. You can learn how to increase your home value here.

Is there a “bad” time of year to reduce the price?

Timing matters. Reducing prices during a quiet period (like holidays or low travel seasons) might not create the momentum you want. We often recommend syncing a price change with a high-traffic window, like before a busy weekend or just ahead of an open house.