British Columbia · Seller Report
Three mistakes account for most of the money sellers lose before their home ever goes on the market.
They are all understandable. Two of them feel like good judgement at the time. And all three are made in the space of a single afternoon, months before anyone finds out they were mistakes.
The three
Choosing on rapport
Why it happens
You are inviting someone into your home to discuss something personal and expensive. Liking them feels like the relevant test, and selling is a people business, so it half is.
Why it costs you
Warmth and competence are unrelated. Every agent you interview will be pleasant — being pleasant is a professional requirement, not a differentiator. Meanwhile the things that decide your outcome (pricing accuracy, negotiation, marketing reach) are invisible across a kitchen table.
Do this instead
Ask all three candidates the same measurable questions — sale-to-list ratio, median days on market, expired listings, pricing accuracy — and compare the answers on paper, away from the personalities.
Believing the highest suggested price
Why it happens
One agent says $1.05 million and two say $950,000. It is genuinely hard not to hear the first as optimism and the others as defeatism.
Why it costs you
This is the most expensive of the three. An agent who wins the listing by flattering your price gets the contract; you get the reductions. The first two or three weeks are when a listing has the most attention it will ever have, and an overpriced home burns exactly that window. Buyers then read the price history as weakness and negotiate accordingly. Overpriced homes routinely sell for less than correctly priced ones, and take far longer to do it.
Do this instead
Ask every candidate: “which recent sold properties support that number?” Sold, not listed. If the comparables do not hold up, neither does the price.
Shopping on commission alone
Why it happens
It is the one number that is easy to compare, and on a large sale the difference looks like a lot of money.
Why it costs you
Commission is negotiable and always has been — but the right question is what ends up in your pocket, not what leaves it. A reduced fee usually means a reduced marketing budget, or less offered to the buyer’s brokerage, which narrows the pool of agents bringing buyers. A one percent saving on fees is easily erased by a two percent softer sale price.
Do this instead
Ask each candidate for their estimated net proceeds to you — sale price, less commission, less GST on the commission, less legal fees, less your mortgage payout and any penalty. Compare those figures, not the percentages.
A fourth, which is really the first three in disguise
Interviewing only one agent. Roughly speaking, most sellers speak to one. With one candidate you have no comparison, no leverage on terms, and no way to tell whether the suggested price is generous, honest or low. Three is the number — and you will learn more from the differences between them than from any single conversation.
A tell worth watching for. Ask what they would change about the house, and what they would leave alone. An agent who says “nothing, it is lovely” is managing your feelings. An agent who says “the carpet in the back bedroom, the front door, and do not touch the kitchen because you will not get it back” is advising you.
Questions we get asked
Is it really true that overpriced homes sell for less?
It is one of the most consistent patterns in residential real estate. A new listing gets its maximum exposure in the first two or three weeks — alerts fire, agents notice, buyers who have been searching for months look immediately. Price it above what the evidence supports and that window is spent on people deciding it is too expensive. What follows is reductions, a lengthening days-on-market figure, and buyers who now treat the price as negotiable because it visibly has been.
Can I just list high and reduce if it does not work?
You can, and many sellers do. Understand what it costs: you spend your best exposure at the wrong price, and you arrive at the right price with a listing that now looks tired. Testing the market is a legitimate choice for a genuinely unusual property with few comparables. For an ordinary home on an ordinary street it is usually an expensive way to find out what the comparables already said.
Is commission negotiable in BC?
Yes. Commission has always been negotiable and there is no set or standard rate. What matters is what you get for it — the marketing, the reach, what is offered to the buyer’s brokerage, and who actually does the work.
What if I like one agent but another has better numbers?
You have to work with this person for months through a stressful process, so the relationship is not irrelevant. But make the numbers the first filter and the rapport the tie-breaker, rather than the other way round.
Get a net proceeds estimate, not a pitch
We will give you a realistic sale price with the comparable sales behind it, and the estimated net in your pocket after every cost. Compare it against two other agents before you decide anything.
Call 778‑234‑2000 Prefer to write? Send a message insteadPlease note: Commission rates are negotiable and are not set or regulated. Market behaviour varies by area, property type and conditions. This page is general information about British Columbia and Canadian rules, current at the time of writing, and is not legal, tax, financial or mortgage advice. Figures and programs change — confirm anything you intend to rely on with the relevant authority or a qualified professional. Sonny Bhinder is a licensed REALTOR®, not a lawyer, accountant or mortgage broker. Not intended to solicit properties currently listed for sale, or to cause a breach of an existing agency relationship.