Top 8 Home Selling Myths You Should Stop Believing

Don’t trust everything you hear – this holds true for selling homes. In an industry where everyone has something to say, regardless of whether they are a part of the market, myths can quickly blind facts, costing you money and wasting your time. Listing and selling homes are processes where extensive research is necessary. And falling into the trap of myths will only hinder its success.

This article will clear out the eight common home selling myths to help you sell homes more efficiently.

‍8 Real Estate Myths About Home Selling

1. Staging and Renovations are Not Important: The biggest mistake a seller can make in a seller’s market is not validating home staging and renovation. The seller’s market refers to an extended demand for properties with a low supply. This creates an upper hand for the sellers because the properties sell like hotcakes! Hence, the sellers believe they won’t have to stage the home since people are ready to take whatever is best for their requirements. However, this is not true.
   
   Home staging quickens the process of buying for several real estate agents. It helps the buyers visualize the home more effectively and allows them to imagine how the home will turn out for them. In fact, a NAR report stated that 47% of the buyer’s agents believed that home staging positively affected their buyers and 82% of them found that their buyers could easily visualize the home through staging. A messy home in bad condition is unattractive to any buyer. Therefore, staging and renovating it can be the best bet at making it sell, sometimes even at a high price. However, we understand that these processes can cost a lot, which is not ideal for many. Here’s when virtual renovation and virtual staging come in handy.
   
   Virtual staging is exactly like traditional home staging; however, instead of spending thousands of dollars in staging a home physically to make it look perfect, you can virtually stage it with the help of advanced technology and tools. Styldod’s Virtual Staging platform helps you transform any listing, starting at just $16! Create the most photo-realistic and affordable listings with unlimited revisions within a turnaround time of 24 to 48 hours.
   
   Virtual renovations help your buyers understand the home space better and reimagine a property and renovate it without investing a whole lot of resources or time a real-world renovation would need. It covers several updates to the structural elements like paint changes, backyard improvements, floorings, drywall, kitchen remodels and more.‍

Try Virtual Staging!

2. FSBO Saves You Bucks: While you can definitely sell your home by yourself, you will need the skills, time and experience to pull it off because it is not a cakewalk. Yes, FSBO (for sale by the owner) will save you bucks in terms of not paying commission to a real estate agent, but you will lose big on the negotiation part, which comes only through experience and skills.
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   A real estate agent spends most of their time ensuring that the property provides you tremendous value by selling it at a high price. To achieve that, they piece together several things like listing the home, marketing and staging it, and negotiating properly. If you want to get the correct value of your property and get the best returns, getting an expert with the right skills and experience is ideal.

3. Exteriors are Not as Important as Interiors: Exteriors are just as important as the inside of a house because most buyers make a snap judgment just by looking at what’s outside. Today, since everything works online, even the process of selling a home is going online. Real estate is going through a digital stage, where 90% of the home buying search begins online. A NAR report stated that over the past four years, real estate searches on Google had grown 253%. Hence, people who start their home buying process online are driven more by the external features of the listing before even looking at the other enlisted features. And if we go by the theory that the first impression is the last, the cluttered yard or broken driveway will not attract anyone. Hence, the exteriors of a listing are just as important as the interiors.

4. Professional Listing Photos are a Waste of Money: As mentioned above, more buyers are starting their initial house hunting process online. This has raised the demand for exceptionally great listing photos. However, some still make the mistake of not paying attention to good photos for selling properties at top dollar. First impressions make a huge difference, especially when selling a home.
   
   People are comfortable scrolling through property images within their fingertips, and in this scenario, it becomes even more essential to have listing photos that make heads turn.

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5. Higher the Price of a House, the Better: There are only a few rare instances where the owners do not want to price their home as high as they possibly can. It is understandable that you want to make as much money as you can with the sale; however, this strategy does not work for everyone and at every stage.
   
   High-priced homes are avoided mainly by buyers due to the apparent reason of them being too pricy. Most buyers begin their house hunt with the mindset of looking for reasonably priced home than preferring the over-priced properties. And even if a buyer agrees to pay the price above the market value, they will ask for an appraisal, and if the stated amount does not match it, they will not spend.
   
   Overpriced homes are more likely to sit in the market for a long time. Hence, it is always necessary to hold a home valuation to avoid overpricing a property and eventually losing its true value.

6. No One Benefits from Open Houses Anymore: The pandemic disrupted everyone’s routine. It even disturbed how real estate agents and potential buyers approached open houses. While it is normal to believe that open house is a thing of the past since more buyers prefer house hunting online, it is wrong to think that it does not help sell homes anymore. Depending on the market, they are still viable in attracting potential buyers and streamlining your selling process.
   
   Most real estate agents believe if they are getting a query for a home during the weekday, the buyers will want to look at the property over the weekend. And if this is the case with every buyer, conducting an open house is beneficial. It streamlines the selling process by providing buyers more access and allowing the sellers not to conduct multiple showings of the house every time a buyer wants to see it.

7. It’s Necessary to Wait for the Right Season for Selling: While some claim summer is the best season to sell, some think it is winter and others believe nothing else works but spring. This ideology might work for some, but no concrete evidence supports these claims.
   
   Plenty of homes sell around the year and when you hire a skilled and experienced real estate agent, you are more likely to see top results, no matter the seasons. However, this does not translate that seasons are not important.
   
   Since real estate is entirely local, some homes sell faster than others in certain locations and specific seasons. For example, spring is the peak season for selling homes in Massachusetts. This is different for other states. Check the market situation to find the best season for selling.
   
   Also Read: The Most Effective Tips To Sell Your House Faster In Winter!

8. The Market Will Continue to Grow: The past recessions around the globe have made it clear that even real estate is not a completely risk-free investment. Although home values have proven to be on the rise for several years now, it is a myth that they will continue growing every year. With future economic downturns, they can and will fall. Hence, it is foolish to think that any market maintains a steady pace.

‍Keep Yourself Updated!

The real estate industry, like every other market, changes with time. Hence, keeping yourself updated with the latest real estate listing tips is necessary to avoid slacking off in the competition. To become a better real estate agent, arm yourself with all the accurate information and avoid falling for every real estate myth you see online!