Q: What Are the Top 6 Home Selling Mistakes to Avoid?

To sell quickly and for top dollar, be wary of these six mistakes.

Let’s be honest: Preparing your home for the market can be an exhausting and stressful process. However, if you avoid six major mistakes in particular, you’ll make the process a lot smoother. Here are the first three of those mistakes:

1. Hiring the wrong agent. The right agent will have a documented, ongoing communication plan that they follow, and a systematic process for listing and marketing your home. Equally as important, they should know which comparable sales in your neighborhood to use based on their knowledge and experience. The right agent will also be honest and straightforward. They’ll tell you what you need to hear rather than what you want to hear. 

2. Incorrectly pricing your home. Price is one of the most important factors in marketing your home. Price shouldn’t be based on what you paid, what you need, or what you want. Instead, it should be determined by the marketplace and what a buyer is willing to pay based on recent comparable sales. 

Truthfully, not all agents are listing agents, and accurately positioning your home on the market is both a science and a skill. Zillow recently found that pricing your home just 1% higher than fair market value can cause it to languish on the market three times longer than average. The rule of thumb is that if your home’s had 10 showings and no offers, or has sat on the market for two weeks without any showings, then it’s not priced correctly. 

3. Neglecting to declutter. The word ‘declutter’ often carries a negative connotation, but what it really means is maximizing the space and light that flows through your home. Today’s buyers start their home searches online, so this basically counts as your home’s all-important first showing. The moment of truth happens when they see your listing photos—those will help them decide whether they want to see the home in person or not.

As I always tell seller clients, a property that’s ready for photos has a packed garage, full closets, or a storage unit or pod to store extra items. Think less is more. An experienced agent should be able to walk through your home and give you recommendations for how to stage the property to get the best outcome from each showing. 

Stay tuned for my next video where I share the final three mistakes all home sellers must avoid. If you have questions about this or any other real estate topic, don’t hesitate to reach out to me. I’m here to help.