Two Concord Agents Quoted Very Different Prices. Which One Do You Trust?

What should you do when two Concord agents give you very different prices?

Do not pick the higher number, and do not split the difference. Ask each agent to show you the comparable sales behind their price, and to tell you whether their number is a list price or the price they expect your home to sell for. Most gaps between two agents come down to a few things: different comparable sales, different assumptions about your home's condition, or different pricing strategies. Once you can see which one is driving the gap, the right number usually becomes much clearer.

That process works whether your home is a ranch in Dana Estates, a two-story in Crystyl Ranch, or a smaller place near Sun Terrace.

Jessica Kalama is a real estate agent with Realty ONE Group Elite serving the East Bay, from Oakley and Brentwood to Concord, Pleasant Hill, and Walnut Creek, helping buyers and sellers make confident moves. Learn more at jessicakalama.com.

Why does a big price gap feel so unsettling?

You invited two professionals into your home. Both walked the rooms, asked questions, and sounded confident. Then they handed you two numbers that are far apart.

That moment shakes people. If the experts disagree, how are you supposed to know? Some sellers freeze. Others grab the number that feels best and stop asking questions.

Here is what that actually means for you: a price gap is information, not a verdict. It tells you that two people looked at the same home and made different choices. Your job is to find out what those choices were. That is a much easier task than guessing which person is smarter.

If you have not seen a pricing analysis before, our explainer on what a comparative market analysis is covers the basics. This article picks up at the point where you are holding two of them and they do not agree.

Where do the differences usually come from?

1. They picked different comparable sales

Every price starts with recent sales of similar homes nearby. But "similar" and "nearby" are judgment calls, and Concord makes those calls harder than you might expect.

Concord is large and varied. A home on one side of Ygnacio Valley Road can sit in a different school boundary, a different style of neighborhood, and a different buyer pool than a home a few blocks away. A 1950s single-story near Sun Terrace and a newer two-story in Crystyl Ranch are both "Concord," but they are not the same market.

So ask each agent:

• Which sales did you use, and why those?
• How far back did you go?
• Did you leave out any nearby sales, and if so, why?

If one agent used sales from the last few months on your street and nearby blocks, and the other reached further in time or distance, you have probably found a large part of the gap.

2. They made different adjustments

No comparable sale is a perfect match. Agents adjust for the differences: one more bedroom, a larger lot, a pool, owned solar, an updated kitchen, a busier street.

Two agents can use the very same sales and still land in different places because they valued those differences differently. Ask each one to walk you through the adjustments, line by line. You do not need to agree with every one. You do need to understand them.

3. They made different assumptions about condition

Condition is where a lot of quiet disagreement hides. One agent may have priced your home as if it will be shown in its best possible shape. The other may have priced it as it sits today, with the dated bathroom and the roof that is near the end of its life.

Neither approach is wrong. They just answer different questions. Ask each agent: "What condition did you assume?" and "What would you suggest I fix, if anything, to reach your number?"

If condition is a big question mark, a pre-listing inspection can settle it with facts instead of opinions. Our guide on whether a pre-listing inspection is worth it on an older Concord home walks through that decision.

4. One gave you a list price, the other gave you a sale price

This one sounds small and causes a lot of confusion. Some agents tell you the price they would list at. Others tell you the price they expect a buyer to pay. Those can be two different numbers by design.

A list price is a strategy. An expected sale price is a forecast. Ask each agent to give you both, in writing, so you are comparing the same thing.

5. They have different pricing strategies

Some agents like to price a little under the expected value to draw more buyers in the first days. Others prefer to price right at value. Still others start higher and plan to adjust.

Each strategy has real tradeoffs. Pricing below value can bring more showings, and also carries the risk that offers land close to the list price. Pricing above value protects against leaving money on the table, and also risks a slow start. A good agent will name the strategy out loud and explain why it fits your home.

6. One number may be built to win the listing

It is uncomfortable to say, and it is worth knowing. A seller usually likes the agent who says the highest number. Some agents know that.

A price that is built to win the listing tends to look a certain way. The comparable sales are thin or far away. The adjustments are generous. The answer to "what happens if we get no offers?" is vague. That does not mean every high number is inflated. It means a high number should come with the strongest evidence, not the weakest.

What questions should you ask each agent?

Put the same questions to both agents, ideally in writing, so you can compare answers side by side:

1. Which comparable sales did you use, and why? Ask for the list.
2. What adjustments did you make? Bedrooms, lot, condition, updates, location.
3. Is your number a list price or an expected sale price? Ask for both.
4. What condition did you assume my home would be in?
5. What is your pricing strategy, and why does it fit this home?
6. What happens if we do not get the response we expect? When would you suggest we review, and what would change?
7. How do you think an appraiser will see this price?

That last question matters more than most sellers realize. If your buyer is using a loan, the lender will order an appraisal. A price that an appraiser cannot support can turn into a renegotiation late in the process. Our guide on what happens when an appraisal comes in low explains how that plays out.

How do you compare the two answers?

Take a sheet of paper and draw two columns, one for each agent. Down the left side, write the seven questions above. Fill in what each agent told you, in a few words.

Then look at three things.

Which agent showed their work? A number backed by specific sales and clear adjustments is more useful than a number backed by confidence.

Where exactly do they differ? Maybe they used the same sales but disagreed on condition. Maybe one used a different set of sales altogether. Now you know what the gap is really about.

Which explanation matches what you know about your home? You lived there. You know about the new windows, the slope in the backyard, the noise from the street. You are allowed to weigh in.

Some sellers bring in a third opinion at this point. That can help. Just know that a third number is only useful if it comes with the same kind of explanation.

What mistakes do sellers make with two different prices?

Choosing the highest number because it feels good. This is the easiest mistake to make. A price that is too high can lead to a slow start, fewer showings, and a price reduction later. Our guide on what happens if your East Bay home does not sell covers where that path can lead.

Choosing the lowest number because it feels safe. A low number is not automatically the realistic one. It may reflect a strategy, or it may reflect an agent who did not see the value in your updates.

Averaging the two. Splitting the difference sounds fair. It is not analysis. You end up with a number neither agent actually supports.

Treating the price as separate from the plan. Price and marketing work together. An agent who prices well and has no plan for reaching buyers, or a strong plan with a weak price, leaves you exposed either way.

Not asking what happens next. The best pricing conversations include a checkpoint: a date when you will look at showings and feedback together and decide whether anything changes.

What could this look like in a Concord sale?

Here is an illustrative example, not a real client.

A couple in Dana Estates has lived in their home for many years. Their kids are grown and they are ready for something smaller. They interview two agents.

The first agent gives them a number that makes them smile. When they ask for the comparable sales, the list includes two homes from the newer part of Crystyl Ranch and one sale from well over a year ago. The adjustments are not written down.

The second agent's number is lower. Their comparable sales are nearby single-story homes that sold recently. They adjusted down for the original kitchen and up for the larger lot. They also gave the couple a second figure: what the home might bring if the kitchen and flooring were refreshed before listing.

Seeing the two side by side, the couple realizes the gap is mostly about comparable sales, not about either agent's skill. The second agent's number came with evidence they could check. They still had questions, and they asked them. But they were no longer guessing.

If you are at the very start of this process, our guide on what to do first when you want to sell in Concord lays out the earlier steps.

How Jessica approaches pricing

Jessica does not hand sellers one number to accept or reject. She presents pricing as three strategies, each with honest tradeoffs, so you can see what each choice is likely to mean for your timeline, your showings, and what you walk away with. Every strategy comes with the comparable sales and adjustments behind it.

There is a reason for that structure. Jessica has been a school psychologist since 2013, and she knows that a big decision feels very different when you understand your options than when someone simply tells you what to do. A clear set of options turns "who do I believe?" into "which of these fits what matters most to us right now?"

Jessica Kalama is a real estate agent with Realty ONE Group Elite serving the East Bay, from Oakley and Brentwood to Concord, Pleasant Hill, and Walnut Creek, helping buyers and sellers make confident moves. Learn more at jessicakalama.com.

Frequently asked questions

Is it normal for two agents to suggest very different prices?

Yes, it happens often enough that you should be ready for it. Agents use different comparable sales, adjustments, and strategies. The gap itself is not a red flag. A gap that neither agent can explain is.

Should I list with the agent who gave the highest price?

Not on that basis alone. Choose the agent whose number comes with the clearest evidence and whose plan makes sense to you. If the highest number also has the strongest support, that is a good sign. If it has the weakest, be careful.

Can I ask an agent to change their price?

You can share information they may not have, such as recent upgrades or a nearby sale they missed, and ask whether it changes their view. A good agent will update their thinking based on facts. Be wary of an agent who changes the number just because you asked.

Should I get an appraisal before listing?

Some sellers do, especially when a home is unusual or the comparable sales are thin. It is one more opinion, not a guarantee, and the buyer's lender will still order its own appraisal if the buyer is using a loan.

What if I still cannot decide?

Go back to the evidence. Ask both agents the same follow-up questions in writing, compare the answers, and pay attention to which one helps you understand your home better. That is usually the right agent to trust with the price.

The bottom line

Two different prices do not mean someone is wrong. They mean two people made different choices about comparable sales, condition, and strategy. Ask each agent to show those choices, compare the answers side by side, and choose the number that comes with evidence you can check. That is how you set a price with confidence instead of hope.

Jessica Kalama is a real estate agent with Realty ONE Group Elite serving the East Bay, from Oakley and Brentwood to Concord, Pleasant Hill, and Walnut Creek, helping buyers and sellers make confident moves. Learn more at jessicakalama.com.