What Happens Behind the Scenes After You List Your Home

What Happens Behind the Scenes After You List Your Home

So, you’ve worked hand-in-hand with your Realtor to come up with a list price and completed the listing agreement to get the ball rolling. If you start out with too high a price on your home, you may have just added to your stress level, and selling a home is stressful enough. There will be a lot of “behind the scenes” action taking place that you don’t know about when you first list your home for sale.

Contrary to popular opinion, the listing real estate agent does not usually attempt to sell your home to a home buyer alone. That isn’t very efficient. Listing agents market and promote your home on the MLS and Internet to the hordes of other local agents who do work with homebuyers, dramatically increasing your personal sales force. During the first couple of weeks your home should be a flurry of activity if it’s priced right.

If you and your agent have overpriced the listing, fewer Realtors will show your home. After all, they are real estate professionals, and it’s their job to know local market conditions and home values. If your house is dramatically above market, why waste time? When it comes to an offer, the seller and the buyer will be so far apart that there is no bridge long enough to bring them even close to making a deal. Their time is better spent showing homes that are priced realistically.