Hope Leitner, Realtor®, CRS

If selling your   house   is on your to-do list this year, the time to   start prepping   is now. That’s because experts say the best week to list your house is coming up fast. A recent  Realtor.com   study  analyzed years of housing market trends (excluding 2020 since it was an outlier) and found that  April 13–19 is expected to be the ideal window to put your house on the market this year: “ . . . we’ve identified April 13-19 as the best week to list for sellers  . . . a seller listing a well-priced, move-in ready home is likely to find success.  Because spring is generally the high season for real estate activity and buyers are more plentiful earlier rather than later in the year, listing earlier in the spring raises a seller’s odds of a successful sale .” What Makes This Week Stand Out? As the quote mentions, spring is almost always a strong season for sellers. But this particular week could give you an even bigger advantage this yea...

  For the past few years, it’s been mostly a seller’s market. But dynamics are shifting as the number of homes for sale grows. And that means that the market is balancing out a bit. As a result, some sellers are finding they need to be more flexible to close a deal. One strategy that can help? Offering concessions. As the  National Association of Realtors  (NAR)  explains : “As home inventory begins to grow and buyers regain some advantage in the market, sellers may consider offering more in negotiations to make the deal more attractive and get to the closing table.” What Are Seller Concessions?  Concessions are homebuying costs that a seller agrees to cover as a way to get their house sold. And based on data from the  National Association of Realtors  (NAR), nearly 1 out of every 4 sellers ( 24% ) offered a concession in 2024. Here are a few of the most common types of concessions: Covering Closing Costs:  The seller pays for part (or all) of the...

  If you want to sell your house, having the right strategies and expectations is key. But some sellers haven’t adjusted to where the market is today. They’re not factoring in that there are more homes for sale or that buyers are being more selective with their budgets. And those sellers are making some costly mistakes. Here’s a quick rundown of the 3 most common missteps sellers are making, and how partnering with an expert agent can help you avoid every single one of them. 1. Pricing the Home Too High According to a survey by  John Burns Real Estate Consulting  (JBREC) and  Keeping Current Matters  (KCM), real estate agents agree the #1 thing sellers struggle with right now is setting the right price for their house ( see graph below ): And more often than not, homeowners tend to overprice their listings. If you aren’t up to speed on what’s happening in your local market, you may give in to the temptation to price high so you can have as much wiggle room as po...