{"id":2436,"date":"2026-07-08T13:35:21","date_gmt":"2026-07-08T17:35:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.chrisanncleland.com\/?p=2436"},"modified":"2026-07-08T13:35:22","modified_gmt":"2026-07-08T17:35:22","slug":"bridge-pricing-why-even-thousands-are-important-in-a-list-price","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.chrisanncleland.com\/index.php\/2026\/07\/08\/bridge-pricing-why-even-thousands-are-important-in-a-list-price\/","title":{"rendered":"Bridge Pricing: Why Even Thousands Are Important in a List Price"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Bridge Pricing: Why Even Thousands Are Important in a List Price<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Sitting down with my seller-clients, list price discussions are strategic. Back when online search engines were emerging as the go to source for buyers beginning their home search, recommended pricing tactics were different than the most effective tactic used today. Unfortunately for sellers, not all listing agents have kept up with how online search engines structure their search criteria and still recommend pricing based on how they have always done things. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Real estate is a field in which there is very little formal training. What you learn to obtain a license is not what you need to serve your clients. And those that train new agents are real estate agents that have been in the business longer than you. They tell you how to do something, which is grounded in the logic of those that taught them and so on. Agents are, by and large, trained to do something based on historical practices. As technology has evolved, the thought processes and practices of too many agents, including some of the best selling agents in the business, is slow to come out of the well worn grooves of how they have always done things…and that get handed down the agent generations. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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When online media sites showcasing homes for sale hit the scene, the scripted price ranges you could select from maxed out just below an even hundred, or half-hundred thousand. You could not search for a home up to $400,000. For example, you may end up selecting a price range from $300,000-$399,999, $300,000-$349,999 or $350,000-$399,999. Prevailing wisdom, already trending toward the retail mentality of asking just below the even dollar amount to make something seem like more a bargain, was further justified by this search criteria.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nowadays, media sites have overlapping, pre-determined amounts that end and begin on even-thousands. As an example, you can choose $350,000-$400,000 and $400,000-$450,000. Better yet, there are sites where buyers can plug in their own desired ranged. Magic numbers of $25,000, $50,000, $75,000 and $100,00 exist for a reason. People don’t think in value numbers ending in $900, $990, or $999. They think in even numbers because it is simple.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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When I’m sitting with seller-clients and the list price of their home must be determined, we enter into the discussion of bridge pricing. This concept is one that sees the most value in the even thousands. Why? You double your buyer pools.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If the value of a home is assumed to be at, or close to $500,000, there is no tactical advantage to pricing a home at $499,900 or $499,999, or even $499,000. Furthermore, a house is not a box of macaroni on the shelf at Wal-Mart or a grocery store. The best strategy is to price at $500,000. You get buyers looking up to $500,000 and you get buyers starting their search at $500,000. That is bridge pricing and it creates more traffic for your listing and a better shot at the highest possible value.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The one thing that is true is real estate is that there is no “one size fits all” for listings. Even thousand numbers are not always the best pricing position, but those situations in seller-favored markets, like those that Northern Virginia has been experiencing from 2019 to the time of this article, are rare. Off magic number\/bridge pricing can be the subject of another article. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ultimately, listing agents don’t get to decide where you price your home, we only advise. Homes sell every day that are priced in at those well worn value marks. In my own business, I have seen the proof in shorter marketing times and more buyer activity, leading to more offers in bridge pricing. When a listing agent is sitting in front of you and advising a price, you should know their philosophy on pricing strategies and why it exists. Look at list price to sold price ratios. Best of all, use your common sense after looking at those online media sites like Zillow and Redfin. What strategy will get you the most attention?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Bridge Pricing: Why Even Thousands Are Important in a List Price Sitting down with my seller-clients, list price discussions are strategic. Back when online search engines were emerging as the go to source for buyers beginning their home search, recommended pricing tactics were different than the most effective tactic used today. Unfortunately for sellers, not Read More …<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9,677],"tags":[681,50,74,679,51,157,680,239,678],"class_list":["post-2436","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-home-selling","category-listing-strategies","tag-bridge-pricing-for-listings","tag-bristow-va-listing-agent","tag-centreville-va-listing-agent","tag-do-listings-priced-below-even-numbers-sell-for-more","tag-gainesville-va-listing-agent","tag-haymarket-va-listing-agent","tag-is-there-an-advantage-to-pricing-on-even-thousands","tag-manassas-va-listing-agent","tag-warrenton-va-listing-agent"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.chrisanncleland.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2436","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.chrisanncleland.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.chrisanncleland.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.chrisanncleland.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.chrisanncleland.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2436"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.chrisanncleland.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2436\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2438,"href":"https:\/\/www.chrisanncleland.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2436\/revisions\/2438"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.chrisanncleland.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2436"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.chrisanncleland.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2436"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.chrisanncleland.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2436"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}