By: KeyCrew Media
In Madison, New Jersey, fewer than 20 homes are typically listed for sale at any given time, compared with 38 or more five years ago, according to Scott Spelker. In a market that tight, how a home is priced determines whether buyers show up. Spelker finds that sellers who price competitively, below perceived market value, consistently come out ahead of those who price above it.
Why Buyers Respond to Perceived Deals
Spelker, who works with Coldwell Banker Realty in the Madison area of Morris County, New Jersey, says the instinct to price a home at or near what a seller thinks it’s worth works against them when inventory is this low. Modern buyers, particularly younger ones, are conditioned to recognize value, rather than negotiate down from an inflated number.
“Everybody wants a good deal,” Spelker says. “My generation maybe a little bit less so. We bought stuff full retail. But the younger generation are way, way more clever, and things are way more transparent.”
Buyers can screenshot a listing, run it through an AI tool, and compare prices instantly, Spelker notes. When a home looks like strong value relative to what’s available, the response is enthusiastic. Buyers stop scrutinizing flaws and start imagining themselves living there, and that emotional shift is what drives competitive offers.
A home priced at $950,000 in this market may draw limited attention, Spelker says. Price the same home at $800,000, and buyers walk in excited. “They’re like, I love this place. Oh my God, this place is amazing. We have to come,” he says.
The Multi-Offer Mechanism
Spelker frames the strategy as a price-discovery opportunity. A seller who attracts ten competing buyers gets a far more accurate reading of a home’s value than one who attracts just a couple.
“The only way you’re going to find out what your house is worth is when the market tells you, when buyers write contracts,” Spelker says. “I’d rather canvass 10 people and say, what do you guys think my house is worth? Throw out the bottom, throw out the top, and kind of come to a point.”
Spelker says his office has seen homes go 49% and 50% over asking price this year, with one property receiving 41 offers. His brother’s home received 20 offers. These outcomes, he says, are possible when the initial price creates genuine excitement.
With Madison’s inventory as low as it is, buyers are primed to act fast on anything that looks like a deal. A well-priced home listed on a Thursday can have its highest-and-best deadline set for the following Tuesday, five days on market. Some listings show longer days-on-market counts on the MLS or Zillow, but Spelker says that figure can be misleading. The Garden State MLS counts coming-soon days, typically 10 days when no showings are allowed, as days on market. “It’s not on the market,” he says. “I’m not letting anybody in this house.”
Preparation Multiplies the Effect
Competitive pricing works best when paired with deliberate home preparation, Spelker says. A well-prepared home, staged, cleaned, and refreshed, then priced to look like a bargain, compounds buyer enthusiasm.
Spelker compares it to selling a car. A vehicle that’s been detailed and waxed generates a fundamentally different reaction than one that’s been left as-is. “Multiply that by like a hundredfold or more when you’re talking about a house,” he says.
Spelker says his partner on The Spelker Team, Amy, leads the preparation process. For sellers who prefer not to spend money before closing, Spelker says programs exist that front the cost of pre-listing improvements, with repayment at closing. That makes the upfront investment easy for sellers to embrace.
“Would you invest $15,000 with me for a month or two, if I could get you 75 or 100 grand?” Spelker says. “I’ll give you 20 names and phone numbers of 20 different sellers that’ll say he’s not lying.”
Building Anticipation Before the First Showing
The coming-soon listing period, typically 10 days before a home goes live, pushes the property to portals like Zillow, Realtor.com, and Homes.com before a single showing is scheduled. Spelker uses that window to build awareness. “You don’t want to just open the doors and say the party started,” he says. “You want to let everybody know, invite them to the party 10 days in advance.”
Spelker says the strategy asks sellers to trust a process that can feel counterintuitive. Pricing a home a seller believes is worth $900,000 at $825,000 takes conviction. But that competitive approach delivers stronger results in nearly every case, he says. “Nobody gets out of bed for a 5% off sale,” Spelker says. A 15% or 20% discount from perceived value is what gets buyers through the door, and once they’re inside, competition does the rest.
The Spelker Team, Scott and Amy Spelker, are real estate agents at Coldwell Banker Realty in Madison, NJ, consistently ranked among the top producers in their office. Scott is also Madison’s Town Historian.
Disclaimer: This article is based on information provided by the expert source cited above. It is intended for general informational purposes only and does not constitute legal, financial, or real estate advice. Readers should conduct their own research and consult qualified professionals before making any real estate or financial decisions.
