The 3 Biggest Mistakes NoVA Home Sellers Are Making

NORTHERN VIRGINIA — In Northern Virginia’s housing market, there's a lot of conflicting information about where the market is right now.

Some analysts contend the market is in a state of decline, while others tell you this is one of the hottest markets we've ever seen. The truth, as is often the case, lies somewhere in the middle.

It's true that year-over-year home sales are down significantly in 2023, but that has nothing to do with buyer demand. Local expert Rob Traister, associate broker with RE/MAX 100 and leader of the Traister Real Estate Experts team, says that homes priced appropriately are selling in a matter of days and receiving multiple offers.

“We had a listing in Burke recently that was only active for four days and received multiple offers in the first 24 hours,” Traister said. “We priced it comparably to other recent home sales in the area, and it sold for $45,000 above the asking price.”

Still, some homes are not selling after weeks or months on the market, even though buyer demand is extremely high because inventory is so low.

Pricing Too High

Sellers often want to price their homes for more than they are worth, thinking that they will probably receive a lower offer and that they will ultimately negotiate to the price they would like to get. Traister says that’s a big mistake.

“Buyers are very savvy after the past few years, and if a home is priced for more than it's worth, they are not even going to bother to look at it,” he said.

The result is that the house sits on the market for weeks or months, and even if the seller lowers the price, buyers will assume there’s something wrong with the house because it's been on the market so long.

“At one time, it was not uncommon to see a house actively listed for 30, 60, or even 90 days,” Traister said. “Those days are long gone, however, and if a house is actively listed for longer than a few weeks buyers steer clear of it because they assume something is wrong with it.”

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But Traister added that homes that have been on the market for a while can be a great opportunity for buyers, because they can offer less than the asking price and may get their offer accepted.

“It’s kind of a self-fulfilling prophecy,” he said. “If you overprice your house, you will probably end up getting less for it than you ultimately want to get.”

The strongest strategy, according to Traister, is for the seller to list slightly under their target price. “It seems counter-intuitive, but this works consistently for me,” Traister said. “A lower price means more people will see the home, and that means a higher the chance of getting multiple offers, as it did with that recent Burke listing I mentioned.”

Not Making Cosmetic And Necessary Repairs/Updates

Making repairs and updates to a home before selling is standard practice, but some sellers roll the dice by not doing much — or anything — to make their houses look better before putting them on the market. In 2020 and 2021 sellers could get away with that to some degree, but as interest rates have increased buyers have become much more discerning.

They also don’t have as much money left over after the purchase of the home because more of their money is going toward the mortgage than it was when rates were below 4 percent.

“The old saying is ‘you never get a second chance to make a first impression,’ and making a first impression is important in this market,” Traister said. “Sellers say they will offer a credit toward repairs or remodeling, but what buyers see is time and money they will have to spend. A home that’s move-in ready is going to sell for more than a comparably-sized home that needs updates.”

Sellers don’t have to break the bank to get their homes ready to sell.

Traister said that most updates are cosmetic, such as tidying up the yard and adding fresh mulch. “Fresh paint always makes a home look better, as does getting carpets cleaned or replaced,” he said. “Those two things not only make the house look better, but they give it that ‘new home smell’ that appeals to buyers.”

Not Listing

Perhaps the biggest mistake sellers are making right now is not trying to list their homes. There are a variety of reasons sellers are choosing to sit out what is still a very strong sellers’ market. They may not think they can get into another home because of the lack of inventory, according to Traister, or they may be overwhelmed by the amount of work they think they need to do to get their home ready for market.

Some sellers believe that the market isn't good right now.

“A seller told me recently he wants to wait until the rates go down, because he believes he will get a better price for his home when that happens,” Traister said. “I explained to him that right now there's very little supply and a whole lot of demand. When the rates come down, there will probably be more listings — more supply — and that will dilute demand.”

He added: “The best time to sell is when you have a commodity that is scarce. Homes are very scarce right now.”

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