In Northern New Jersey’s competitive listing market, the agent who quotes the highest price often wins the business. The seller who believes that quote often loses money. According to Artur Tyszka, a Wayne, New Jersey real estate agent and co-lead of The Tyszka Team, brokers are routinely promising sellers unrealistic prices to secure listings, then leaving those sellers worse off when the market fails to cooperate.
Winning the Listing
Tyszka describes a structural problem in how agents compete for listings: sellers, naturally inclined to believe their home is worth as much as possible, gravitate toward the most optimistic valuation. The agent who delivers that optimism wins the listing. The seller pays for it later.
Tyszka recently competed for a listing against five other brokers. He recommended a listing price of $599,000. His competition was quoting $700,000. Tyszka got the listing.
“A lot of these agents that are giving these higher valuations are not doing their homework,” Tyszka says. “They’re just telling sellers what they want to hear.”
Many sellers do list with the agent who promises the most. The consequences, Tyszka argues, are predictable and costly.
Overpriced Listings Hit the Market
An overpriced listing in Northern New Jersey follows a recognizable trajectory, according to Tyszka. In the first week, showing traffic is minimal – typically five to ten groups, and that may be generous. The property accumulates days on market. Buyers begin to wonder what is wrong with it. The listing develops a stigma that is difficult to reverse even after a price reduction.
Once a seller reduces to a realistic level, the buyer pool that returns is different from the one that would have appeared at accurate pricing from day one. These buyers know the seller is motivated. They negotiate harder on price. They negotiate harder at inspection. The seller, having already spent months on carrying costs and having exhausted their leverage, has little ability to push back.
“There’s nothing worse than an overpriced listing,” Tyszka says. “When you start sitting on the market, that’s when people will start to take advantage of your home and look for a deal. They’re going to nip you on the price, and then when the inspection comes around, they’re going to nip you on inspections.”
Holding costs accumulate. The final sale price ends up below what accurate pricing would have produced from the start. Tyszka says sellers who overprice and sit on the market could end up losing hundreds of thousands of dollars compared to what a well-priced listing would have achieved.
The Incentive Structure
The deeper problem Tyszka identifies is not that individual agents are acting irrationally. From a narrow self-interest perspective, quoting a high valuation to win a listing makes short-term sense. The agent secures the business. If the listing eventually sells, even at a lower price after months on the market, the agent still earns a commission. The seller absorbs the financial loss.
This creates an incentive structure that systematically disadvantages sellers who do not know how to evaluate competing valuations. A seller presented with one agent quoting $599,000 and five agents quoting $700,000 has no obvious reason to trust the lower number. The burden falls on the honest agent to explain why the lower number actually serves the seller’s interest, and to back that explanation with results.
“You don’t want to list with somebody that’s going to tell you he can get you a million dollars for your house, when in actuality your house is worth $800,000,” Tyszka says. “Your house is going to sit, you’re not going to sell, you’re going to accumulate more holding costs, you’re going to create a bad image for your home on the market.”
The conversation Tyszka says he has with sellers centers on what they actually want to achieve. The goal is not the highest listing price. The goal is the highest sale price, the cleanest transaction, and the fewest complications. Those outcomes are more reliably produced by accurate pricing than by optimistic pricing.
What Accurate Pricing Produces
Tyszka points to a recent Wayne listing as evidence. The seller wanted $800,000. Tyszka recommended listing at $747,000, roughly $50,000 lower than the seller’s target. The lower price widened the buyer pool, generated multiple bids, and the property sold for over $900,000, more than $100,000 above what the seller originally expected.
“Had we priced it a little too high, we wouldn’t have gotten the competition that we had,” Tyszka says.
Inspections went smoothly. The buyer stayed in line. Tyszka attributes both outcomes directly to the demand created by accurate pricing: when multiple buyers compete for a property, the winning bidder is less likely to nitpick at inspection because they know another buyer is waiting behind them.
The contrast is stark. A seller who lists high and attracts a single buyer after months on the market faces a buyer with full leverage at every stage. A seller who lists accurately and attracts multiple buyers in the first week holds leverage throughout the transaction.
Why the Window Matters Now
For sellers in Northern New Jersey considering a listing in the next three to six months, Tyszka’s advice is direct: list now. Buyers looking to move before the school year are actively searching, particularly in areas with strong school systems. Waiting until the holiday season or colder months means fewer motivated buyers and weaker offers.
Tyszka says waiting could cost sellers anywhere between $50,000 and $100,000, depending on the property. Markets for Wayne, New Jersey, homes and areas closer to Manhattan – Bergen County, Essex County – remain competitive, with bidding wars still occurring. But that demand rewards accurate pricing, not aspirational pricing.
“We don’t even know what next year is going to bring,” Tyszka says. “We know what we know today.”
Artur Tyszka is a co-lead at the Tyszka Team at Keller Williams Prosperity, serving buyers and sellers in Wayne, Pompton Lakes, and throughout Northern New Jersey. The team closed over 180 transactions totaling more than $69 million in 2025.
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.
Disclosure: Individuals or companies mentioned may have a commercial relationship with KeyCrew.
