It only takes one

The goal of your pricing, marketing and property preparation efforts should be to give your home as much appeal to as broad a segment of qualified buyers as possible. That’s why, if you read this blog often, you’ve heard me beg and plead for you to get rid of your sequined kitty cat tiles and turn your dedicated jai-alai court back into 3 bedrooms before you list your homes for sale: highly personalized customizations can often limit your home’s appeal. The chances you’ll find another buyer who has always wanted a series of permanent shrines to

Twinkies surrounding the headboard nook in the master bedroom are, simply put, slim.

That said, don’t get discouraged if you set what you think is a rational list price, have a well-attended open house, show your home to 10 buyers and the sun goes down with no offers. It happens. You might have heard some other seller crow that their home sold before the sign could even go up. But in real estate, as with most other areas of life, comparing yourself with someone’s else’s experience is a setup for upset.

I would be happy to work with you to get a good understanding of the average length of time a home in your area stays on the market, and use that as a benchmark or signal that it might be time to revisit pricing or otherwise course-correct your home selling plan of action. In the meantime, understand that while your task is to market broadly, your ultimate success at this endeavor of home selling only requires that one qualified buyer fall in love with your home – so don’t get discouraged or panic while your agent goes about the process of exposing your property to the market and the population of local buyers.

This fundamental truth of real estate also brings up one more success factor that is well within your control: make a commitment to only show your home in its very best light. Don’t slack off on the cleaning and clutter-clearing just for this one showing or that one: you don’t know which of the buyers who comes to see your home will be “the one,” so make sure your home’s smell, preparation and presentation shines for all prospective buyers who come to see it.