Here's a question sellers are asking me more often:
“Lisa, why did THAT house sell and this one is still sitting?”
Sometimes they're talking about their own home.
Sometimes it's the neighbor's house.
And sometimes they're looking online wondering why one property went under contract quickly while another one has been hanging around long enough that everybody in the neighborhood knows the listing photos by heart. 😂
There usually isn't one single answer.
But after more than 25 years in real estate, I can tell you this:
Homes don't compete based on what the seller needs. They compete based on what the buyer sees.
And that's where we need to start.
Buyers Have More Information Than Ever
Years ago, buyers relied heavily on their Realtor to tell them what was available.
Today?
They've got the listings in their pocket.
They can compare your house to five others while they're sitting on your sofa during the showing.
They can see the price.
They can see the square footage.
They can see how long it's been listed.
They can look at photos of the competition.
They may even know you reduced the price before they ever walk through the front door.
That means today's seller needs to understand something very important:
Buyers are comparison shopping.
Your house isn't being evaluated by itself.
It's being evaluated against everything else that buyer could purchase.
Price Gets You Into—or Out of—the Conversation
Let's talk about the elephant in the room.
Price.
I know sellers love their homes.
I know what they paid for them.
I know what they spent replacing the roof, remodeling the kitchen, putting in the fence or upgrading the HVAC.
And I absolutely want to get my sellers every dollar the market will support.
But the market doesn't determine value based on how much we need to walk away with.
Buyers determine what they're willing to pay based on the alternatives available to them.
If the house down the street is updated, move-in ready and priced similarly to yours, but yours needs flooring, paint and a kitchen update, we can't pretend those properties are equal.
They're not.
And pricing too high in the beginning can cost you something we can't get back:
the excitement of being the new listing.
“We Can Always Come Down Later” Isn't Always a Great Strategy
I hear this one too:
“Let's just start high. We can always reduce it.”
Technically? Yes.
Strategically? Sometimes that's an expensive experiment.
The first days and weeks on the market are when your listing is fresh. Buyers who have been waiting for something like your home see it.
If they look at the price and say, “Nope,” they may move on.
Then we reduce.
Maybe we reduce again.
Eventually buyers start wondering:
“What's wrong with it?”
There may be absolutely NOTHING wrong with it.
But now we're fighting a perception problem we didn't need to create.
I would much rather position a property correctly from the beginning than spend the next two months chasing the market.
Condition Changes the Price Conversation
Not every house needs to be completely renovated before selling.
Let me say that again because HGTV has convinced half the country they need to remodel the entire house before putting up a For Sale sign. 😂
You do not necessarily need to renovate everything.
But condition matters.
There is a difference between:
dated but well maintained
and
deferred maintenance.
Buyers notice peeling paint, rotten wood, stained ceilings, damaged flooring, odors and things that look like they haven't been maintained.
And once they notice one thing, they start looking harder for the next.
Before one of my listings hits the market, I want to determine:
What actually needs attention?
What would give us the best return?
And just as importantly:
What should the seller NOT spend money on?
Sometimes paint and a good cleaning will do more for the sale than an expensive project the seller will never recover.
That's why we make a plan.
Your First Showing Happens Online
I cannot stress this enough.
Your first showing probably isn't when somebody pulls into the driveway.
It's when they see your house on their phone.
If the photos are dark, cluttered or don't tell the story of the property, buyers may never schedule the physical showing.
Marketing matters.
Photography matters.
The order of the photos matters.
The description matters.
How we position the property matters.
If there's something special about your house, I want the buyer to understand it.
Maybe it's the backyard.
Maybe it's acreage.
Maybe there's a fantastic workshop.
Maybe it's the floor plan, location, porch or view.
We aren't just putting information into MLS.
We're giving buyers a reason to care.
Sometimes the Problem Isn't the House—It's the Competition
This is another reason I keep watching the market after a listing goes active.
A new competitor can show up tomorrow.
A builder can introduce an incentive.
Another seller can reduce their price.
A nearby property can go under contract and give us valuable information.
The market doesn't freeze on the day we list your house.
So neither should our strategy.
Putting a house on the market and then waiting 30 days to see what happens isn't much of a strategy.
I want to know:
Are people clicking on it?
Are they saving it?
Are we getting showings?
What are buyers and agents saying?
Are similar properties going under contract?
What changed?
Then we adjust when the information tells us we should.
No Showings and Lots of Showings Tell Me Different Things
This is one of the simplest ways I explain it to sellers.
If we're getting very few or no showings, the market may be telling us buyers don't see enough value to come through the door.
That could be price.
It could be presentation.
It could be how we're marketing the property.
It could be the competition.
If we're getting plenty of showings but no offers, that's different information.
People were interested enough to come see it.
Now we need to understand what changed once they got inside.
Maybe condition doesn't match expectations.
Maybe there's an objection we didn't anticipate.
Maybe the price still doesn't make sense once buyers compare it in person.
The market talks.
Our job is to listen.
The Best Listing Strategy Starts Before the Sign Goes Up
This is why I love talking to sellers before they're actually ready to sell.
Give me a little time.
Let me walk through the house.
Let me see what we're working with.
There may be things I'd recommend doing before we list.
There may also be things on your giant honey-do list where I say:
“Don't spend your money on that.”
I don't want you throwing thousands of dollars at a house because somebody on the internet said every seller needs a brand-new kitchen.
I want to spend your money like it's mine.
If it doesn't make sense, let's not do it.
Selling a Home Is More Than Putting It in MLS
A sign in the yard doesn't sell a house.
Neither does simply putting it online.
A successful sale is a combination of price, condition, presentation, marketing, negotiation and constant attention to what the market is telling us.
Sometimes a property sells quickly.
Sometimes it takes longer.
And sometimes the market tells us we need to change something.
That's okay.
The mistake is refusing to listen.
I've been selling real estate in Southeast Georgia since December 2000, through all kinds of markets.
One lesson has stayed the same:
You can't control the market. But you absolutely can control how you compete in it.
Thinking About Selling Your Home?
Before you paint the whole house, remodel the kitchen or decide what your home is worth based on the neighbor's Zestimate, let's talk. 😂
I'll come take a look.
We'll talk about what buyers are seeing, what's competing with you and what I believe would help position your home for the strongest possible sale.
And if I think you should do something before selling, I'll tell you.
If I think you shouldn't spend the money, I'll tell you that too.
My job isn't to tell you what you want to hear.
It's to give you the information you need to make a good decision.
That's what service looks like to me.
Lisa Ortiz, The Rockin' Realtor
Robin Lance Realty — A Tradition of Trust
📱 912-695-6932
☎️ 912-756-2448
📧 [email protected]
GeorgiaHomesbyLisa.com
Serving Savannah, Effingham County and communities throughout Southeast Georgia.
