“The market’s favoring sellers!” “Now is the time to sell!” These are all things that homeowners in Charlotte, NC are hearing. Yet when you list your home for sale and no one comes knocking, you have to wonder what the problem is. Before you get too frustrated, make sure you are not making one of these common but downright dumb mistakes when selling a home.

1. Letting Your Emotions Rule in Pricing
You love your home. You’ve invested money and time and energy into making it look nice. Yet when it comes to picking a price, you can’t let your emotions get too involved. Emotional attachment will cause you to make poor pricing decisions. Pricing a home accurately based on current market data is critical to selling it quickly. Price it too high, and it will sit without interested buyers. The longer a home sits on the market, the harder it is to sell. Talk to a real estate agent to get accurate data for pricing your home before you list it, and leave your emotions at the door.

2. Poor Listing Photos
Photos sell homes. Poor photos mean people won’t want to look at your home. If you can pay a professional to take good pictures of your home, then do it. If your agent has a photographer to use, then even better. This is one of the easiest problems to rectify, but it’s also one of the most common reasons a home doesn’t sell.

3. Not Being Flexible with Viewing Times
Yes, it’s a pain when someone wants to look at your home at dinner time. But if that’s the time that works for them and you say no, you may have lost an interested buyer. Be flexible with viewing times and strive to keep the home showing ready as often as possible.

4. Not Cleaning and Sprucing up the Home
Buyers don’t want to buy your problems. Make sure you spend the time and a little bit of money to make your home look as good as it possibly can before you list it. Yes, this is the “not fun” part of selling a home, but putting in the effort now will mean a faster sale and a better price.

5. Letting the Clutter Stay
Most of the time people move because they’ve outgrown their home. So this means your home may have quite a bit of accumulated clutter. Don’t let that clutter stay. You have to get rid of some stuff to make your home seem open and inviting. That doesn’t mean you have to trash your treasures. Take advantage of a storage locker for temporary storage while your home is on the market. Remove all personal items and mementos, then look around to see what other clutter can be temporarily stored.

6. Failing to Market the Home
Finally, this is not a scenario where “If you list it, they will come.” You have to market the home to get it in front of potential buyers. This is where a skilled agent is critical. Talk to your agent about the marketing techniques that work best for your current market.

Remember, the market is quite good in many parts of the country, but that doesn’t mean homes will sell immediately. Take the time to make smart decisions and price your home well, and it will sell. Fall victim to these dumb mistakes, and your home may sit on the market for ages.