8 Common Home Selling Mistakes to Avoid
Selling a home isn’t always as easy as you expect it to be. Markets—and buyers—can be finicky, and sometimes it feels like luck just isn’t on your side. It’s not uncommon for sellers to excitedly list their home only to lose all enthusiasm as their property sits for weeks, months, or longer with little or no activity. Fortunately though, luck is part of it, but it’s not all of it. There are plenty of actionable steps you can take to make your home more appealing, and more likely to sell quickly and for the right price.
The most common mistakes that home sellers make usually cost them in both time on the market and ultimate sale price. The median time houses sit on the market is generally between three weeks and five weeks. If you’ve gone through the process yourself, however, you know that those few weeks can seem like an eternity, and extending beyond the median selling period can make it seem like you’ll never sell. But if you’re doing everything right, there’s nothing to worry about aside from getting the right buyer through the door.
An efficient home selling process starts with avoidance of the most common home selling mistakes. Read through them below and make sure that you’re not accidentally sabotaging your chances of a quick and painless home sale.
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You’re not working with the right agent
The real estate agent you choose to work with can make or break your home selling experience. A good agent will be able to guide you through every step of optimizing your home for sale, and won’t let you get away with the other mistakes on this list. But if you’re working with someone who isn’t a good communicator or who doesn’t value your sale as much as you do, then you’re missing out on the chance to have a strong advocate in your court. Finding a good real estate agent starts with research. Don’t just go with the first name that pops up in a Google search; ask your friends and family members in the area for referrals, read reviews, and talk to a few agents before choosing who you’re going to hire. The longer a home sits on the market the less its perceived value, so it’s better to take the time early on to select the best agent for the job instead of having to switch agents after your home has already been listed.
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You’re pricing it too high
Every seller wants to get the most money they can for their property, but sometimes judgment and practicality get clouded by emotions and wishful thinking. The most important factor dictating what you should price your home at isn’t what you think it’s worth, but what comparable homes in your area have sold for. Secondary factors include location, market strength, local demand, and the home’s condition, but even those are less important than the comps. An overpriced home is a turn-off to buyers, and may result in a spate of discouraging lowball offers. But price your home right, and buyers and their agents will take note. A home that’s priced correctly in terms of its market comps is a home that’s priced to sell. You’ll be more likely to get legitimate offers, and more likely to sell at what you’re asking for.
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You’re neglecting necessary repairs
Most buyers aren’t looking for a project. While it can be costly to take on the minor and major repairs your house needs before listing it, it will definitely increase your chance of a quick sale. Even small things, like an unhinged cabinet or a crack in the ceiling, can work against you, because they suggest to buyers that the current owners haven’t taken good care of the property and that other things may be wrong with it. And while it may be expensive to take on these fixes, it’s usually more expensive not to, costing sellers in both time spent on the market and ultimate sale price. Even if nothing is obviously wrong, simple home repairs before listing can go a long way.
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You’re listing at the wrong time of year
The housing market ebbs and flows throughout the year, with the spring seeing a lot of buyer demand and late fall and winter typically seeing a lot less. Of course, you may be moving out of necessity and not have a ton of say on when you list your home, but if you’ve got some flexibility, aim to hit the market between late February and mid-May. This is especially true if you live somewhere with distinct seasons, as buyers aren’t out looking much when the weather is cold and drab. Listing at the wrong time of year is a big home selling mistake, since even a great property may sit there for awhile due to a lack of general home buying interest. List at the right time and you’ve got a better chance of selling quicker and for closer to your asking price.
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Your home isn’t depersonalized
Buyers need to be able to see themselves living in your home. If they walk in to see your family photos on the fridge or a bunch of mail on the entry table, they’re going to have a hard time making their own personal connection. Depersonalization is an important step, and one that sellers often neglect because they’re still living in the house and it can feel weird to take down all the little things that make it feel like home. But home selling is as much about psychology as it is about proper pricing and marketing. Failing to remove those things that suggest to buyers this is your home, not theirs, is one of the most common—and detrimental—home selling mistakes.
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You haven’t decluttered
Clutter, like personal affects, stands in the way of a potential buyer being able to view a property with an open mind. In addition to making your space feel smaller, clutter detracts from a home’s best assets and keeps it looking like its past, not its future. As soon as you know you’re going to list your home, get to work packing up things you know you won’t need and storing them outside of the house, either in storage or at a generous friend or family member’s house. Be as liberal as you can with what you choose to get rid of—the less stuff you have around the property (and that includes closets), the better that buyers will be able to see the potential of the space.
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Your home isn’t staged to sell
Even if you’ve done a great job decorating your home, there’s more to the art of staging than just good looking rooms. Home staging is the specific process of setting up your home in a way that makes it as appealing as possible to the buyers who come through. Oftentimes, it doesn’t require buying or renting anything new to put in your home so much as it does editing down what’s already there and arranging things in a way that maximizes appeal. There are plenty of easy home staging steps you can take on by yourself, but if you think you need a little bit of extra help, you can hire a professional home stager to take over and get your home looking its absolute best.
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Your listing pictures aren’t great
The pictures attached to your listing are often the first look at your home that buyers will have. Bad pictures, or too few pictures, are a major turn-off, and will likely result in losing the interest of those who may otherwise have been a perfect fit for the property. It’s critical that you work with a professional real estate photographer to take photographs that highlight all of the things that make your home great and present it in a way that appeals to buyers and their agents. Some common mistakes in this area are pictures that are too dark (turn on all the lights and open all the blinds for images) and pictures that show clutter (the home you intend to present during showings is the home you should present in pictures). Take good pictures and take a lot of them.
If you’re serious about selling, you don’t want to jeopardize the process by failing to optimize your home for a quick and easy sale. Failing to avoid the home selling mistakes outlined above will cost you big in time, money, and stress. Make it easier on yourself by putting in the effort to do things right and you’ll be signing those closing papers in no time.