The Top 2 Things Homeowners Need To Know Before Selling
Here’s something you should know before you sell your house. The homeowners who win in today’s market aren’t the ones waiting it out or stepping back. They’re the ones who adapt from the start.
A number of homeowners this year didn’t get the outcome they wanted. But it’s not because something’s wrong with the market. It’s because something wasn’t right with their expectations.
Realtor.com reports 57% more homes have been taken off the market compared to last year. That means they listed… but didn’t sell. But here’s the honest truth. It was mostly because of two things: price and timing.
And if the seller had come in with the right mindset on each, their sale would’ve gone differently. Here are the top 2 things you can learn from those other sellers.
1. Price It Right from Day 1
Let’s start with the most common sticking point: the asking price. Today, 8 in 10 sellers expect to get their asking price or more. But that confidence doesn’t always line up with reality.
According to Redfin, only 1 in 4 (25.3%) sellers are actually getting more than their list price.
And here’s where the mismatch is coming from.
A few years ago, you could set any price and buyers would come running, no matter what the price tag said. Odds are, you’d still sell for over asking. But things are different now.
Buyers have more options than they’ve had in years, so they can afford to be more selective. If your price feels even a little high to them, it’ll get overlooked in a heartbeat.
And for the homeowners who had that happen, some end up pulling their listings instead of making a simple adjustment that could have changed everything. Which is a shame, honestly. Because a small price tweak is usually all it takes to bring buyers in and get the deal done.
According to HousingWire, the average price cut right now is just 4%.
Think about that. Other sellers are listing too high and giving up rather than dropping their price 4%. If they’d just started 4% lower, they may have already sold. So, before you list, talk to your agent about what’s working nearby. They’ll help you find the sweet spot that’s competitive, realistic, and still protecting your bottom line.
And here’s the kicker. If you’ve been in your home for a while, your equity gives you room to set your list price more competitively and still come out way ahead. Unfortunately, those other sellers didn’t seem to realize that.
2. Don’t Rush the Process
Another common misstep: expecting your house to sell in a weekend.
Many sellers right now remember when homes sold in as little as hours – and they expect that to happen today. But in most markets, that’s not the reality anymore.
It takes closer to 60 days to go from listed to sold, which is actually normal (see the gray in the graph below):
It just feels slower because they’re comparing it to the lightning-fast pace of 2020 and 2021.
