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09/16/2022

Top 5 Real Estate Listing Errors and Tips to Fix Them


People often make mistakes when listing their property for sale, simply because they don’t have the experience.. Yet real estate can be one of the most significant investments people make, so getting your home properly ready for sale is of the utmost importance.

To help guide sellers, I’ve created a rundown of the top 5 listing errors people often make and some tips on how to correct them. 

#1 LISTING ERROR: Too many personal items in the home. When a buyer enters a home they want to get a sense of what it would be like if they lived there, and having personal items filling the home can get in the way of their own vision of themself in the space.   

FIX:  If you consult with a realtor or home stager, they will tell you that one of the most well-known home staging tactics is to depersonalize your home. It helps potential home buyers imagine their families in your home. Take down family photos, personal mementos, degrees and trophies, and anything else of a personal or sentimental nature.

#2 LISTING ERROR: Bad photos of the property. When your listing is not using top-notch professional photography you run the risk of bad photos, which can include; distortion of property features, clutter in the home, dark shots, and bad angles that don’t reflect the home in the best light. FIX: Hire an elite professional real estate photographer. These professionals know how to take the right interior and exterior photos and use the correct lighting and angles to show the home in the best manner possible. Many of them also use drones to show a birds-eye view of the property and create videos that can be a compelling part of the listing.

 

#3 LISTING ERROR:  A non-compelling listing description. Listing descriptions that sound like every other home on the market are definitely a big mistake. Using words like “airy and spacious” or other “vanilla” terms can make the listing blend into all the others that sellers are browsing.

FIX: At the beginning of the listing description capture someone’s attention immediately, so they’ll keep reading; perhaps by pointing out one of the property’s best features. Next continue to point out the home’s stand-out and unique features, highlighting your home’s most desirable traits in logical order. Be sure to point out the things that the buyer might not know otherwise from just looking at the pictures, and don’t forget to include desirable things about the neighborhood and location. 

#4 LISTING ERROR: No or poor curb appeal.  Almost 50% of buying decisions are made from the street before a buyer even enters the home. A home that has poor landscaping, clutter, or even undesirable paint colors on the exterior or the door can negatively influence the listing. 

FIX: You can improve curb appeal with some simple fixes; paint the front door or put a wreath on it, add an attractive front doormat, add some plants on the porch, keep up with landscaping, or put fresh sod on any dead portions of the grass.

#5 LISTING ERROR: The property is priced incorrectly.  If there are 10 listings that meet a buyer’s criteria, and the listing is priced far above the comparable homes, your listing will always go to the bottom of the showing list. 

FIX: Use the advice of an experienced realtor to set your price. A good realtor will do a complete competitive analysis of comparable properties and will use that along with their experience of the market to set a price that will sell quickly while getting the maximum amount of return on your investment. 

 


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