Ask price and closing price: how much does the price actually fall?

"How much room is there for negotiation?"

It’s one of the first questions you hear when selling a house. Sometimes it comes after a viewing, other times even before you’ve seen the property. It’s as if every advert already includes a portion of the price that’s bound to be knocked off.

On the other hand, the owner often thinks along the same lines: ‘Let’s start higher, so we’ve got some leeway.’

But room for negotiation isn’t simply created by adding a figure to the asking price. If the price seems unrealistic compared to other options, buyers might rule out the house before they’ve even viewed it.

How much does the price usually drop?

In the second quarter of 2026, the average national discount compared to the initial asking price was 7.1 per cent, according to a survey by the Bank of Italy, Tecnoborsa and the Italian Revenue Agency. This is a useful benchmark for understanding the market, but not a percentage to be automatically applied to every property.

A house listed at €500,000 will not necessarily sell for €464,500. It might sell close to the asking price or require a more substantial price reduction: it depends on the initial positioning, the property’s features and the actual offers received.

The average reflects a range of sales. The valuation must relate to your specific property.

Does a smaller discount mean you’ve sold it for a better price?

Not necessarily. Let’s imagine a property listed at €600,000 and sold for €550,000: the reduction is around 8.3 per cent. If it had started at €565,000 and sold for the same amount, the discount would have been around 2.7 per cent.

The proceeds would be identical. To assess the outcome, one would also need to know the time taken, the costs incurred whilst waiting and the agreed terms.

However, there is also a risk of starting too low. A property with distinctive qualities can support an ambitious asking price, provided those qualities are reflected in market conditions and are recognisable to buyers.

The key is to provide a solid justification for the price.

“It’s too expensive”: understanding the objection before conceding

When a buyer objects to the price, the temptation is to defend it immediately or to ask them how much they would be willing to offer.

First, you need to understand what they mean.

They may have a budget limit, be concerned about the cost of renovation work, or have seen a property they consider better value. A useful question to ask is: What factors lead you to think the asking price is too high?

The answer allows you to address the specific issue. A concern about renovation work requires further discussion; a comparison with another flat requires examining the differences; a financial difficulty means checking whether there is a realistic scope for moving forward.

Listening does not mean accepting every request for a discount. It also means recognising when an objection is valid. If several qualified buyers highlight the same issue, the price warrants a review.

The figure matters, along with the terms

An offer must be assessed in its entirety. In addition to the amount, deadlines, the terms and conditions, the financial viability of the purchase and the compatibility of the handover with the owner’s needs all matter.

A slightly lower offer may be better suited to a specific sales project. This does not automatically make it worthwhile to concede: you need to understand what concrete benefit justifies the difference.

Similarly, rejecting an offer requires an assessment of the alternatives. How much is it reasonable to expect to achieve by proceeding with the sale? Within what timeframe? At what cost and with what uncertainties?

Where does a good negotiation begin?

It begins with setting the asking price and identifying the reasons to support it.

In Rome, even properties on the same street can have different commercial appeal depending on their exposure, views, floor level, outdoor spaces and the condition of the building. Understanding these differences helps to establish a more precise positioning and to respond to objections with verifiable facts.

Before asking yourself how much you’ll have to lower the price, ask yourself how credible your starting price is. This is the first step towards assessing every offer with a clear head.

With Valori & Partners, the property valuation becomes the starting point for a strategy: from the initial asking price to the management of offers, with a focus on the overall outcome of the sale.