Editor’s Note: This post began as a client case study video on our Instagram and TikTok. We had so many questions about the strategy that we decided to expand it into a full write-up.

Every seller wants the highest price for their home.

But here’s the paradox: the more you shout “high price,” the harder it actually is to get.

Most agents will do the same thing:

• List at the “valuation number.”
• Add $10K–20K buffer.
• Put “price negotiable” in the listing.

And then, they wonder why buyers walk away.

This Tampines West flat taught me something powerful. Sometimes, you win by framing the deal like a clearance sale.

The Setup: A “Lowball” Listing

We listed this unit at $795,000.

On paper, it looked crazy.

The official valuation was closer to $820,000.

The seller themselves thought I had lost it:

“Heikal, why are we undercutting by $25K? You want me to make less money?”

But here’s the twist.

That $795K wasn’t the price we wanted to sell at.

It was the frame we wanted buyers to walk into.

The result?

Not only did we not lose money, we closed the deal at $850,000 (the highest in that block since 1988).

Why Most Agents Get This Wrong

Think about how most listings are framed:

• “Starting from $X.” Immediately caps buyer imagination.
• “Negotiable.” Signals weakness before the first viewing.

When buyers see this, they don’t compete. They calculate.

What we did instead was to create a value anchor.

$795K made the unit feel like a steal.

But when buyers walked in, the space told a different story.

The Viewing: Sell the Feel, Not the Price

At the viewing, I did something unusual. I didn’t talk about price first.

Instead, I walked buyers through the home like I was showing them a lifestyle:

• Big bedrooms where you can actually fit a king.
• Natural light streaming into the living room.
• Privacy without corridor eyes staring into your unit.
• Views that made you want to sit by the window at sunset.

The point was simple: build emotional buy-in before numbers.

Because when people fall in love with a space, the price becomes secondary.

The “What If” Close

Finally, the question came:

“How much is the seller expecting?”

This is where most agents either bluff (“we want at least $880K”) or retreat (“just make an offer, lah”).

Here’s what I said instead:

“They’re hoping for $865K. But what if you offered $850K? Would that still be within your budget? It’s fully renovated just 5 years ago, so even with $30K COV, you’re still saving $100K in reno today.”

That one “what if” line reframed everything:

• $850K suddenly felt like a discount from $865K.
• Paying $30K over valuation didn’t feel painful when compared to saving $100K in renovations.
• The buyer had room to feel like they made the smart choice.

Why It Worked

The magic wasn’t in trickery.
It was in anchoring value to experience, not ego.

• The buyer saw value.
• The seller felt respected.
• I didn’t need to engineer a bidding war or play games.

My role was just to ask the right question at the right time.

That’s how a $795K “clearance sale” became an $850K record deal.

The Lesson: Stop Chasing “Perfect” Prices

Here’s the truth most sellers don’t hear:

• Price too high, and you scare off serious buyers.
• Price too low without strategy, and you leave money on the table.
• Say “negotiable,” and you’ve already admitted weakness.

The sweet spot is framing. Price it where buyers feel the deal is worth fighting for, then guide them to see the bigger picture.

That’s why some listings break records while others sit unsold.

Final Thought

Perfection doesn’t sell.

Perception sells.

This Tampines West seller could have chased $820K and waited months.

Instead, they trusted the process, and walked away with $30K more than they thought possible.

So if your current agent’s strategy is just “mark up and hope”…

you might already be leaving money on the table.

Because sometimes, the smartest way to win is to price like a clearance sale, and close like a record-breaker.

📍 Tampines West, Block 865
✅ Listed at $795K
✅ Valuation at $820K
✅ Closed at $850K (highest since 1965)

If you want to know how to sell smart and strong, DM me and just say:

“CLEARANCE SALE.”