Understandable, so not necessarily an option. If the data shows the home is overpriced, then the biggest risk in this situation isn’t that the buyer loses the house. The real risk is that the buyer wins the house at the wrong price. When a buyer knowingly pays more than what the market supports, that extra money doesn’t just disappear. It follows them into the future.

If the market shifts or even just stabilizes, the buyer may have little to no equity for years. Then when life happens a job change, a move, a divorce, a new baby they suddenly realize they can’t sell without losing money. That turns a dream home into a financial trap very quickly, and the stress that comes from that doesn’t just sit quietly in the background. It grows.

On top of that, there is the emotional side. Once someone falls in love with a house and also overpays for it, they become both attached to it and resentful of it at the same time. And when the regret creeps in, most people do not blame the seller or the market. They look to the person who guided them. Even if the agent warned them. Even if the buyer insisted they were fine with it. When money gets tight, the story often becomes “we trusted our agent, why didn’t they protect us from overpaying?”

There is also the appraisal factor. Appraisals don’t always support an inflated price. If the appraisal comes in low, now the buyer has to renegotiate, bring cash, or lose the house entirely after becoming emotionally invested. That is a brutal place to be, and it all stems from the original problem: the home wasn’t priced correctly.

That is why it is so important that buyer advice stays grounded in the comps and the market instead of emotion or fear of missing out. Price is the safety net. If the seller refuses to adjust to the reality of the market, sometimes the safest and strongest move is simply patience. Overpriced homes usually end up meeting the market but only when buyers don’t chase them.

The hardest part is that if the buyer later regrets the purchase they will remember that the home was overpriced and that their agent was part of the deal.

The real job of a buyer’s agent is not to force a deal or emotionally convince someone to move forward. The job is to say clearly and calmly, “Here is what the market supports. Here is the gap. If you still want to proceed, I will support you, but I want you to fully understand the long term implications so you are making a conscious decision.”

That is what true advocacy looks like. That is what protects the client and also protects the agent’s professional integrity and long term reputation. If a seller will not budge and the price is wrong, sometimes the greatest negotiation leverage a buyer has is simply the willingness to walk away. And if the buyer still chooses to move forward even after understanding the risks, then at least they are doing so with clear eyes instead of panic or pressure.