The 12 most common objections when selling a house (and the technical answer to each)
I hear these twelve sentences every week. All are reasonable. All cost money. Let’s go through them one by one.
1. "I'll list at a higher price, I can always lower it later"
Why people think this. It feels like there is nothing to lose: if it doesn't work, you just drop it. It is perceived as a reversible decision.
What the data says. It is not reversible. A listing has a peak exposure period of three weeks that does not repeat. 14% of listings in Spain eventually lower their price, with an average reduction of €29,390 and a 7% drop from the initial price. And those who lower it do so from a weakened negotiating position.
What to do instead. Set the price within the technical price range and leave a real negotiation margin of 2-4%, not 15%.
2. "I'm in no rush, I'll wait for the buyer who appreciates it"
Why people think this. It is a way of saying "I am not going to sell myself short." Perfectly legitimate as a sentiment.
What the data says. Waiting costs between €150 and €900 per month depending on whether there is a mortgage. 11% of homes take more than a year to sell, and that group usually closes for less than what they would have obtained by starting correctly. In Málaga, at the right price, it sells in 4-8 weeks.
What to do instead. Calculate the actual monthly cost of waiting and compare it to the price difference you are chasing. The calculation almost always changes the decision.
3. "I paid X, I can't sell for less"
Why people think this. It is the loss aversion bias: assuming an accounting loss hurts more than giving up an equivalent gain.
What the data says. The market does not know your purchase price and does not take it into account. The value is fixed by current comparables. In Málaga, the market is at historical highs —€3,937/m² in the capital, €4,272/m² in the province—, so most purchases prior to 2020 are currently in profit. But if yours is not, maintaining the purchase price only prolongs the wait.
What to do instead. Separate emotional accounting from the decision. The useful question is not "how much did I pay?" but "how much do I lose every month that I don't sell?"
4. "I need to get X to buy my next home"
Why people think this. It is a real financial constraint, not a whim.
What the data says. Real, but irrelevant to the market. Your need is not a property feature. A buyer won't pay more just because you need more.
What to do instead. Rethink the entire equation: what the market offers for your house, what financing you have available, and what margin the house you want to buy has. Sometimes the solution is not raising your asking price, but negotiating the purchase better.
5. "My neighbour sold for more"
Why people think this. It is the most natural comparison in the world and usually contains a grain of truth.
What the data says. It is almost never the same property. Different floor, different orientation, a renovation that isn't visible from the outside, garage included, or views that your apartment doesn't have. In the Axarquía, the difference between unobstructed sea views and no views is worth between 8% and 20%. And an isolated transaction is not the market: it is a single point in a cloud.
What to do instead. Ask for the valuation to include that property as a benchmark, homogenized. You will see exactly where the difference comes from.
6. "The appraisal says more than your valuation"
Why people think this. It sounds logical: the official document should carry weight.
What the data says. They are documents with different purposes. A mortgage appraisal is prepared using prudent criteria aimed at guaranteeing a loan. Furthermore, if it is more than six months old, in a market rising by 7.6% year-on-year, it is already outdated. It can be above or below the real market value.
What to do instead. Use the appraisal as another reference, not as the price. If the difference from the market valuation exceeds 15%, review the methodology of both.
7. "I'll list it myself, without an agency"
Why people think this. To save on fees. Legitimate and sometimes successful.
What the data says. It works well when three conditions are met: the property is well-valued, the owner has time to manage viewings, and they know how to filter solvent buyers. When any of these fail, the savings on fees are lost many times over in market time and final discounts.
What to do instead. Whatever your decision, start with an independent technical valuation. It is the step that has the most impact, and it commits you to nothing.
8. "I'll give it to five agencies, so it sells faster"
Why people think this. More shop windows, more buyers. Apparently clear arithmetic.
What the data says. It works in reverse. The same property published five times, sometimes with different prices and different photos, transmits exactly this: the owner is desperate and the price is negotiable. Furthermore, no agency invests in photography, advertising, or serious commercial effort on a listing that will probably be closed by another.
What to do instead. One sole point of contact, with one price and one version of the listing. If it doesn't work in three weeks, review the price and photos, don't add more agencies.
9. "I renovated the kitchen, I have to add that to the price"
Why people think this. Real and recent money has been spent. It is fair to think it counts.
What the data says. It is partially recovered, not entirely. As an order of magnitude, the average recovery of a renovation sits between 50% and 80% of what was invested, and it drops significantly when the renovation responds to specific personal taste. A €15,000 kitchen does not add €15,000 to the value; it adds perhaps €8,000-€10,000, and only if its aesthetic is neutral.
What to do instead. Use the renovation as a selling point —"ready to move into"— rather than as a price item. It helps sell faster, not at a higher price.
10. "I don't want curious people coming to see it"
Why people think this. It is exhausting to show the house to people who are not going to buy. True.
What the data says. The solution is not to reduce viewings by raising the price: it is to filter. A listing with complete photos, floor plan, clear price, and honest description filters on its own. Curious people appear mostly when the listing hides information.
What to do instead. Publish more information, not less. Floor plan, video, community fees, IBI (property tax), and real status. Fewer viewings and of much higher quality.
11. "In summer it sells better, I'll wait until June"
Why people think this. The Costa del Sol fills up in summer, so there will be more buyers.
What the data says. The months with the highest buying activity on the coast are spring and autumn, not the middle of August. In August there are many visitors and few transactions: people are on holiday, agencies and notaries run at half capacity, and decisions are postponed. Furthermore, waiting four months has a direct cost of between €600 and €3,600.
What to do instead. Publish when the house is ready. Seasonality affects the volume of viewings, not the possibility of selling at the correct price.
12. "If I lower the price, people will think something is wrong"
Why people think this. A reasonable fear of projecting weakness.
What the data says. It depends entirely on the timing. A drop in week three, presented as a market review, does not generate that reading: almost no one perceives it that way. Three drops in a ten-month-old listing, yes — and there the history speaks for you even if you don't want it to.
What to do instead. If you have to adjust, adjust early and all at once. An early and sufficient adjustment works; three late and insufficient adjustments do not.
The pattern behind the twelve
If you read them in a row, a common structure appears. Eleven of the twelve objections are, deep down, the same thing: a reason not to accept the price dictated by the market.
And that is completely human. A house is not a financial asset: it is where you raised your children, where you cared for your parents, or what you bought with the first money you saved. No one disputes that.
What doesn't work is transferring that value to the asking price. The market does not pay for that, and the only effect is that the house takes longer to sell and sells for less.
My job does not consist of convincing you to lower the price. It consists of showing you where each number comes from, so that you make the decision with complete information.
Frequently asked questions
My house has been on the market for six months, what should I do?
Three steps in this order: a new technical valuation with updated benchmarks; remove the listing and redo the photography and texts; republish at the price resulting from the valuation, not the old price minus a little bit. Lowering the price without removing the listing rarely reactivates an old advertisement.
How many agencies should I hire?
One, with a single price and a single version of the listing. Publishing the same property in five places with different prices damages perception and disincentivizes commercial investment from any of them.
How do I know if my price is set correctly?
By the number of viewings in the first three weeks. If in 21 days you haven't received at least five or six viewings from real buyers, the price is high or the photos aren't working. You don't need to wait six months to know this.
Is it true that it sells better in the summer on the Costa del Sol?
Not exactly. There are more visitors, but transactions are concentrated in spring and autumn. August is a month of many visits and few signings.
Do you recognize any of these sentences?
If you have seen yourself in two or more, it is probably worth reviewing the valuation. I will prepare a range for you with real benchmarks and show you where each figure comes from. Málaga city and the entire Axarquía.
Fabiana Gastaudo is a judicial real estate expert and specialist in property valuation, practicing in Málaga city and the Axarquía region.
Sources: idealista, Analysis of price reductions in sales listings, Q1 2026 · idealista, Distribution of sale deadlines, Q4 2025 · idealista, Housing price report for sale — Málaga city and province, July 2026 · Alfa Inmobiliaria, Actual sale deadlines by city, 2026.
Are you interested in reading more? The myth of listing at a high price to negotiate · "I'm in no rush to sell": the real cost of waiting · How to prepare your house for sale