Real Estate Myths About Selling a House to Avoid
Real Estate myths have been around since I started my career as an agent thirty-seven years ago.
Unfortunately, homeowners often operate on a lot of incorrect information when they start trying to sell their homes.
There are many reasons for this. While there is plenty of information online about selling homes, not all of it is accurate.
There is also no shortage of info in the real world—from friends, family, co-workers, or someone you know who once had a real estate license—that it is easy to get untrue ideas in your head.
The problem is that these real estate myths can make it much harder to sell your house.
Your home is probably the most valuable investment you own. You cannot afford to make expensive home-selling mistakes based on “facts” that are useless and misleading.
Before you even think about listing, take some time to do your research and speak with several qualified Realtors that can tell you the truth about selling.
Here are some of the most common house-selling myths to get you started on your real estate education.
Most Popular Real Estate Home Selling Myths
Let’s examine the most common real estate myths regarding selling your house.
1. Reality TV is NOT How Real Estate Works.
Many real estate reality TV shows exist, including Property Brothers, Flip or Flop, Million Dollar Listing, Love It or List It, House Hunters, and many others.
Your favorite reality TV show about real estate is a lot of fun to watch, but it is still a show designed for entertainment. The real world of real estate is much more complicated and is often entirely unlike what you see on your screen.
Considering how much money is at stake, trusting a reputable real estate professional over what you see on TV makes sense.
It is rare for a buyer to purchase a property after looking at three homes. When you list your home for sale, it rarely sells at an open house. These are just a couple of reality TV myths.
There is a host of other home-selling myths that lots of people believe, including these sixteen.
2. You Need an Open House to Sell a Home.
One of the most accepted myths in real estate is that home sellers need open houses to sell their property. Far from it!
When you picture a real estate agent at work, there is a good chance you imagine an open house. Letting the world into your home in hopes that someone will want to buy it can seem like a good idea on the surface, but it doesn’t hold up well when you examine the practice more closely.
Most people who come to your open house cannot buy it. Even legitimate buyers usually have something they NEED to sell first.
Most people visiting will be curious neighbors, those looking for something to do, people without the means to buy a home of your caliber, and possibly criminals looking for a score. Open houses aren’t worth it for sellers.
They dramatically increase the chances of theft. All for what, when the same serious buyers visiting the open house would schedule a showing anyway.
Agents talk about the importance of open houses because they can find new clients through the process, not because they think it will sell a home.
Many of the myths about open houses being necessary are pushed by real estate agents who wouldn’t know where to find their next prospect without doing an open house.
Real Estate showings beat open houses hands down for generating qualified traffic.
3. Dual Agency is Acceptable.
When selling your home, you should never allow your real estate agent to be a dual agent. Single-agent dual agency is when a real estate agent works with the buyer and seller in the same transaction.
When you are selling your home and hire an agent, you want them to be working for YOUR best interests. You are paying your real estate agent thousands of dollars to represent you. The key word here is REPRESENT.
The real estate agent becomes a neutral party when you allow dual agency. They no longer represent your best interests.
Unprofessional real estate agents fail to explain dual agency to sellers all the time, honestly.
The agent has a vested interest in a seller agreeing to dual agency – hence the reason to sugarcoat the downsides. Don’t let your real estate agent talk you into accepting this arrangement.
If a buyer wants to work directly with your agent, they can still do that. Your agent will remain a seller’s agent, NOT a dual agent. A seller’s agent represents you – a double agent does not.
Practicing dual agency is a trait of many harmful real estate agents. Don’t be suckered by a self-centered, greedy agent.
Some states have made dual agency illegal because it offers no consumer benefits.
4. You Set The Price When You Sell Your Home.
Your home is your property, which is yours to do with what you like. But it is a mistake to think you can set a price you prefer and sell your home. The seller does not set the price. The Realtor does not set the price. The market sets the price!
Market conditions trump how individuals feel and what individuals want every day. Of course, you want to sell for the highest price possible. The highest price is not a number determined by one person or even a group of people.
The market determines all the homes being bought and sold leading up to and at the time of your sale.
Failing to respect the market is a guaranteed way to struggle with your sale. Buyers know what the market is doing, and so do their buyer agents. There is no way to fool them, so you might as well do your best to take advantage of your conditions.
Make sure you look at the real estate comps through the eyes of the buyer when looking at the real estate agent’s comparative market analysis (CMA).
5. You Should Set Your Price as High as Possible.
Very few homeowners don’t want to set the price of their home as high as possible. This is understandable. You want to make as much money as you can from the sale. But there is a big problem with this strategy. Homes that are priced too high don’t sell.
The vast majority of buyers avoid them—why look at the highest-priced home in the area when five other houses are more reasonably priced?
Accurate house pricing is vital.
Even if you convince someone to pay above market value for your home, the lender will still pay for an appraisal and refuse to loan any more than the appraisal amount.
Overpriced homes sit on the market for too long. Eventually, the owners give in and lower the price. But now buyers and agents have seen the house for a month, see the price drop, and they assume something is wrong with it.
Better to price it competitively from the beginning. Don’t fall for one of the typical home pricing myths. When you believe one of these falsehoods, you end up with a home sale failure.
Regarding home selling myths, pricing should have its own subsection, as many exist. Here are a few of my favorites:
- Pricing a home higher brings a higher sale price.
- Pricing a home higher leaves more room to negotiate.
- I priced my home too low because I got an offer right away.
- My house should be on the market longer – this will bring a better offer.
None of these are accurate! They are all real estate myths.
6. Realtors Won’t Overprice Properties to Land Clients.
Real estate is like every other profession. There are some great agents, some mediocre ones, and some bad ones. The bad ones can be unscrupulous in their dealings.
To get your business, they may tell you your home is worth way more than it is. They know the house will sit unsold. But when you lower the price, the lousy agent will still get a commission, whatever the sale price.
They will also use your home as an advertising vehicle to get other business elsewhere.
Real Estate agents list homes for sale too high all the time. It is part of the business that professional agents must deal with daily.
7. You Want a Realtor Who Charges The Lowest Commission.
Very often in life, you discover that you do get what you pay for. Realtors are no exception.
On the surface, it can seem like a deal to pay a low, low commission. But what does that commission get you?
A sign in the yard and an MLS listing and probably not much else isn’t what professional agents do. In contrast, an agent who knows they will get paid well will likely work harder—better marketing, negotiation, and a higher sale price.
You can see why a commission matters when selling a house. Those who try to beat the system rarely ever save money. What happens instead is they end up costing themselves money in their pocket.
You never want a buyer’s agent NOT to want to sell your home. It’s precisely what happens when you offer a buyer’s agent a lower commission than your competition.
8. You Want a Real Estate Agent Who Isn’t Busy.
This is one of the age-old real estate myths. So many sellers think they should not hire a busy real estate agent because they won’t get excellent service.
WRONG! Most top-producing agents have systems in place that make them successful. They usually have great staffing to do menial tasks that allow them to focus on what matters most.
Agents aren’t busy because they aren’t that good most of the time. Don’t fall for the myth that you should hire an agent with no business. Hiring the wrong real estate agent is one of the biggest home-selling mistakes.
When you need surgery or someone to defend you in a lawsuit, you don’t seek out a doctor or real estate lawyer without any business. Don’t think this way regarding your most significant asset either.
9. For Sale By Owner Will Save You Money.
It is an excellent idea—you sell the home yourself without paying anyone a commission. It might be a good deal if houses were easy to sell, but they aren’t.
Even when you get someone to buy the home, chances are you won’t sell for as high a price as you would with an exceptional real estate agent.
Selling your home for the best possible price requires extensive, targeted marketing, great photos/videos, online marketing, strong negotiation skills, and a knack for sales.
If you have all of these things being for sale by owner might make sense for you.
Selling by owner typically does not include these things. For most people, it is far less stressful and far more profitable to hire a great agent.
There is a high probability you will net less money when selling a house without a Realtor.
10. You Don’t Have to Do Anything to Get Your Home Ready to Sell.
This can be true—but only if you don’t care what you get paid for the home. Some homes are so far gone that they must be sold “As-Is.” But for most homeowners, taking the time to prep the house for sale can pay big dividends.
Not only do you need to clean the house up and prepare it for potential buyers, but you also need to try and fix serious issues now—before a buyer decides to use such items to negotiate a lower price.
Real Estate agents refer to this as staging the home for sale.
11. You Must Wait For The Right Season to Sell Your Home.
Many real estate agents will be asked if it is an excellent time to sell a house.
Some people claim that the summer is the best time to sell a home. Others in the Spring. Still, others argue that you never want to sell in winter. When you ask for explanations of why, though, you will find that these people do not have a lot of data to back up their claims.
Yes, more homes tend to sell in certain seasons. But plenty of homes sell year-round. With a skilled agent, you can sell your home at any time of the year you like. Every season offers advantages, so don’t hesitate to talk to your agent if you are ready to sell.
The fact of the matter is that all real estate is local. The best time of year to sell a home here in Massachusetts is the Spring. It is not even close.
In other parts of the country, this could be completely different. You need to check the situation in your local market to find the best season to sell.
12. Online Valuations Are All You Need to Price Your House.
Going online and looking up your home will give you a price, but it is not the price you should use when listing the home. There are a lot of factors that need to be considered when pricing a home, factors that online valuations do not take into account.
Quite often, sellers will think a Zillow home value is really what their home is worth. NOPE – often, the Zillow value is off by tens of thousands.
You are far better off having a Realtor experienced in your area run the comps and give you an estimate of what the home could sell for.
13. Your Real Estate Agent Does Not Need to be at The Inspection.
When you hire a real estate agent, you want someone to represent you throughout the transaction.
A home inspection is one of the most significant hurdles for a home seller to clear.
More sales fall through at the home inspection than at any other time during a sale.
Sometimes sales fall apart because of what is said or not said at a home inspection. Anyone in the business who regularly attends knows the disconnect between what home inspectors say and what appears in their reports.
Sometimes minor issues are exaggerated beyond belief. A real estate agent can’t counsel a seller on home inspections when they don’t show up to see what’s an issue and what isn’t.
Your listing agent should be at the home inspection! Don’t let your real estate agent talk you out of representing you well. Many real estate agents love to create the myth that they shouldn’t be at the inspection.
14. Going With a Gimmick Like a Guaranteed Home Sale.
One of the downsides of the real estate industry is that there are people in it who will come up with gimmicks to con sellers. The perfect example is the guaranteed home sale program. Let me put it to you this way – any real estate agent can buy your house if you are willing to let it go cheap enough.
Guaranteed home sale programs are just a gimmick to get you to list your house with a crappy agent. Do yourself a favor and pick a great agent, not false promises.
15. I Can Tack on The Cost of All My Improvements to The Sale Price of My Home.
This is one of the home seller myths that always make me smile. Probably because more sellers believe this falsehood than any other, it strikes me funny because it is so off-base.
Not every home improvement is worth doing. Why? Because you don’t get anywhere close to what you invested.
Most home improvements sellers make don’t bring the kind of return they expected. Some home improvements don’t add any value. Quite often, this is the disconnect between what a seller thinks their home is worth and the value.
Here are some repairs when selling a house that brings the highest return on investment. If you will be selling a home, don’t over-improve.
16. Selling a home will be stress-free.
If you have sold your home more than a few times, you know it is not always a breeze. In fact, at times, it cannot be very nice. Here are some of the worst things about selling a home.
You can try to avoid some of these problems, but sometimes it isn’t possible. Keep a stiff upper lip when selling a house.
Know The Facts—Speak to Your Real Estate Agent
A skilled Real Estate agent is highly trained and experienced in the real estate market. The best ones usually have years under their belt. When you need your car fixed, you take it to a professional.
The same is true for selling a home. Consult with a trusted Realtor and find out the truth about how to best market your home!
Don’t believe the selling myths that can put you behind the eight ball! Look for an agent with a track record of success. That is what you need!
Additional Home Selling Articles Worth Reading
- Home selling pitfalls to avoid – Petra Norris shares expertise on what to avoid when selling.
- Preventable home selling problems – Conor MacEvilly guides how to make your sale smoother by avoiding issues.
- Things that cause home sale failure – Sharon Paxson shares the things that can cost a sale.
- Common reasons homes don’t sell – Michelle Gibson provides insights on why homes don’t sell.
- How sellers end up overpricing – Paul Sian gives tips on how homeowners often overprice their property.
The preceding articles are all excellent references written by top real estate agents nationwide. Quite a bit of the advice debunks common house-selling myths that owners have.
Use the home selling tips to have a successful sale.
About the Author: The above Real Estate information on real estate home-selling myths was provided by Bill Gassett, a Nationally recognized leader in his field. Bill can be reached via email at billgassett@remaxexec.com or by phone at 508-625-0191. Bill has helped people move in and out of Metrowest towns for the last 37+ Years.
Are you thinking of selling your home? I am passionate about Real Estate and love sharing my marketing expertise!
I service Real Estate sales in the following Metrowest MA towns: Ashland, Bellingham, Douglas, Framingham, Franklin, Grafton, Holliston, Hopkinton, Hopedale, Medway, Mendon, Milford, Millbury, Millville, Natick, Northborough, Northbridge, Shrewsbury, Southborough, Sutton, Wayland, Westborough, Whitinsville, Worcester, Upton, and Uxbridge MA.
