How to Grade Your Listings A to D (and Forecast Your Next 30 Days)
In a shifting market, don’t complain about the results you didn’t get for the work you didn’t do.
Right now, one of the most important things you can monitor is your inventory hygiene. That means knowing exactly where every listing stands, and moving each one closer to sale every single day.
It all starts with one simple question:
“How do I move my properties closer to sale today?”
That’s the question I answer in this video. In the market we’re shifting into, there’s a first-mover advantage. The agents who act first will win.
Why this matters right now
Getting the listing used to be the hard part. Now it’s getting it sold.
I speak to hundreds of agents every month, and the story is the same: listings are sitting, and a lot of vendors are still hoping for last year’s price. Areas like Penrith are already seeing prices come back, and we expect to see more of that. Nationally, home prices have now fallen for six months in a row (PropTrack, September 2026).
So the number one piece of advice I can give any agent right now is to monitor your inventory.
Grade every listing: A, B, C or D
Every agent has A, B, C and D listings. Here’s how to tell which is which, using a home on the market for $1 million.
A listing: it sells itself.
The seller wants $980,000. It’s on for $1 million, and offers are coming in at or above what the seller expects.
B listing: it needs you to sell it.
The seller still wants $980,000. Market value is $960,000 to $970,000, and buyers are offering around $950,000. Your job is to bring the buyer up a little and bring the seller down a little. A B listing doesn’t sell without you.
C listing: about 5% over.
It’s on for $1 million, but it’s worth $910,000 to $920,000. It should be on for about $950,000.
D listing: about 10% over.
It’s on for $1 million, but it’s worth $860,000 to $870,000. It should be on for about $900,000. The longer it sits, the harder it gets to hit the mark, because the market is slowly falling away.
Forecast your next 30 days
This is where the grades pay off. Once every listing has a grade, you can forecast your sales for the next 30 days.
Your As and Bs are the ones that are selling. Here’s the simple rule I teach:
- Bank 100% of your A listings. That’s why they’re As.
- Bank 50% of your B listings, even when you’re confident.
- Don’t count your Cs and Ds this month.
Say you have 3 As, 4 Bs, 3 Cs and 2 Ds. Your forecast is 3 plus 2: five sales in the next 30 days.
Now you know what’s coming in, and you know exactly where your work needs to go. And remember, in a falling market a D listing gets more overpriced every month it sits.
Move your Cs to Bs and your Ds to Cs
Your As and Bs mostly look after themselves. Your energy goes into the Cs and Ds:
- A C listing needs an adjustment of about 5%.
- A D listing needs an adjustment of about 10%.
That means leaning into the awkward conversations with your vendors. And not just once a month. Every single day, ask yourself:
“What can I do today to bring my stock closer to sale?”
An informed owner will make an informed decision. An uninformed owner will make an uninformed decision. Your job is to keep the conversation going, and to guide your sellers from D to C, from C to B, and from B to A.
One tip: take the evidence with you. When it’s a conversation, it’s just opinion. When it’s in a document, it becomes reality.
Your action plan this week
- Grade every listing you have, A to D.
- Forecast your next 30 days: 100% of your As and 50% of your Bs.
- Book a price conversation with every C and D owner, and take your evidence with you.
- Re-grade every week, and ask the question every day.
Want help putting it into action?
Knowing what to do is the easy part. Having the tough conversation that moves a D to a C is where most agents get stuck. That’s exactly what we work on in coaching.
If you want to impress people, make it complicated. If you want to help people, keep it simple. And keeping it simple is the philosophy I use in my coaching.
Whenever you’re ready, here are two ways I can help:
One-on-One Mentoring
Work with me one-on-one in a private setting to identify and remove the blockages holding you back. I’ve made a short video that shows you exactly how it works.
See how Mentoring works →
In-House Coaching
Bring me in to work with your team. We’ll build a clear road map of “what to do” and “how to do it”, including grading and forecasting your stock every week, so the whole office moves in the same direction.
Enrol your team →
My 2027 diary is filling fast, with over 120 appointments already booked. If you’d like me to save you a seat, now’s the time.
“All up, that single session contributed over $100,000 to my GCI.”
Paul Parkinson, Mint Real Estate
This is where the best get better.
