Selling A Home This Spring? NoVA Realtor Lists Top Mistakes Home Sellers Make

NORTHERN VIRGINIA — With warmer weather on the horizon, Northern Virginia will start to see more homes come onto the market, creating more competition among sellers.

Peak home selling season for Northern Virginia and most of the country typically falls from March to May. Curb appeal is better when things start blooming and turning green, so a lot of sellers wait until spring to list their homes.

According to local real estate experts, more homes will be hitting the Northern Virginia market this spring than at the same time in 2022.

Rob Traister, a Realtor and Associate Broker with RE/MAX 100, offered Patch some important rules for homeowners to keep in mind and mistakes to avoid when trying to sell their homes.

Some of the suggestions — like pricing your home slightly below what you hope to get — may surprise you. But in his dos and don'ts of selling a home, Traister explains why this is a good strategy in Northern Virginia's current hot market.

Here are Traister's list of mistakes to avoid:

Not hiring a professional

Why should you pay someone else to sell your home instead of trying to sell it yourself? Sellers who fall into the trap of thinking they can do it on their own don't realize how many steps there are to selling a home, and the many pitfalls — legal and financial — of trying to do it themselves. The strongest argument for hiring an experienced listing agent is price.

Focusing on the wrong numbers

Some sellers focus on how much the real estate agent is going to charge in commission, and completely ignore the most important number: the amount they will get for their home. People may think they’re saving money by selling their homes themselves, but the statistics tell a different story. According to the National Association of Realtors (NAR), homes that were for sale by owner (FSBOs) accounted for 10 percent of home sales in 2021. The typical FSBO home sold for $225,000, compared to $330,000 for agent-assisted home sales. That’s an average difference of more than $100,000. Had those FSBO sellers used an agent, they would have made about $90,000 more on their home sales — and that’s after all commissions had been paid.

Pricing too high

One of the biggest mistakes a seller can make is pricing their home too high, and that applies to any market. Sellers assume that if they price their home for more than they want to get, that leaves room for them to lower the price. The better strategy is the price a little below what you hope to get. This brings more potential buyers in the door and often leads to a multiple offer situation, where buyers start bidding against each other to get the house. Pricing too high means fewer buyers who are looking in that price range will even see the home in their searches. If they are looking for homes that are $700,000 and below, they are not going to even see a comparable house priced at $750,000 in their online searches.

Using an inexperienced agent

So you have a relative or friend who’s a part-time real estate agent? Don’t use them to sell your house! Experience matters, and inexperienced agents won't know the best way to market your home, including getting the right photography and staging, if necessary. If your agent uses pictures they took with their phone to sell your home, fire them on the spot.

An inexperienced agent may not know what to do if negotiations get tough, or if something unexpected happens before settlement. As a friend of mine says, “people want the least expensive surgeon until something goes wrong, then they want the best surgeon at any cost.”

Sellers should look online to see reviews of their agent, and should also check the Virginia Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation (DPOR) site to see how long their agent has been licensed, if there are any disciplinary actions against them, and if they have completed all of their continuing education. Using the wrong listing agent could cost you tens of thousands of dollars in potential revenue from your home sale. You need an experienced listing agent in your corner.

'Curb Appeal' — outside and inside

Remember the commercial some years ago that said you only get one chance to make a first impression? A shocking number of homes are listed for sale with photos that show a poorly maintained exterior and cluttered interior. Photos like that make buyers “swipe left” and pass over what might potentially be a great home. When listing your house, you need to put your best foot forward, even in a hot seller's market. Small details can make a big difference in how a property is perceived by potential buyers. Home sellers should take the time to make small repairs, touch up paint, and ensure that everything is in working order before putting the home on the market. A home that looks good on the outside and inside is going to get more showings and more offers, and multiple offers means a higher selling price. Spending a few thousand dollars to make the outside look its best and to put a fresh coat of paint on the interior could net tens of thousands of dollars in return.

You probably shouldn’t do a big remodel right before you sell

While curb appeal is important, doing a major remodel probably isn’t necessary before you sell. Buyers will buy a home that looks decent but needs some work or updating, but if they don’t like your choice in updates, they may be turned off by the home entirely. When clients ask me if they should update the bathrooms or kitchen before they sell, I ask them if they’ll get any use out of the updates. If the answer is no, I tell them not to do it. Sellers are only likely to recoup about 80-90 percent of the costs of a kitchen or bath remodel. The better investments are a new roof, new HVAC, new hot water heater, and new windows.

Not being flexible with showings

Home sellers should be prepared to accommodate potential buyers by allowing for flexible showing times. Restrictive showing schedules can turn off potential buyers and lead to a longer time on the market. When I list an occupied home, I encourage sellers to be out of the house from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. each day if at all possible. I recently had seller clients who moved into an AirBnB for the first few days their house was on the market. We had a record number of showings, and they were under contract — above asking price — within three days of going active.

Not being willing to negotiate

Negotiation is a natural part of the home selling process, and home sellers should be prepared to negotiate with potential buyers. Refusing to negotiate can deter potential buyers and make the selling process more difficult. Don’t like the offer you received? Make a counteroffer — you might be surprised at the results you get, and if you don’t try, you’ll never know.

Contact Rob Traister at RE/MAX 100 to learn more about the local real estate market.

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