If you’re going to sell your home this year, you need to stop right now and make sure you don’t make these 4 mistakes. I see sellers make these mistakes all the time (well, not my sellers) and it ends up negatively affecting their sale price (though, I love these mistakes when I’m representing the BUYER!)
Welcome back, it’s Emily Berdon here with another blog to help you with the process of buying or selling your home. I get buyers & sellers reaching out to me all the time after finding these blogs, and I invite you to reach out as well if you are considering selling your home in Thousand Oaks, Westlake Village, or anywhere in the Conejo Valley or surrounding towns.
Also be sure to grab a copy of my free e-booklet: it’s called My Home Selling Difference, and it gives you my tips and tricks for selling your home for the most money. So whether you use me as your agent or not, it has some valuable information… and it’s FREE! So be sure to grab it.
Alright – when it comes to selling your home this year, there are 4 things you need to NOT DO, if you want to sell your home quickly and for the highest price possible. Gone are the day of just throwing a listing up on the MLS and getting $50k more than your neighbor’s home just sold for. We are now in a market with higher interest rates, high home prices, and buyers who are looking at pretty hefty mortgage payments.
I could spend a billion dollars marketing your home but it would not make a difference if your home is not properly prepared and show-ready. Studies show that a buyer will decide if they are interested in purchasing your home in the first 8 seconds of seeing it in person. 8 seconds! It can be hard to see your home the way a buyer sees it – but you’ve got to try. Drive up to your home. Get out of the car. Approach your home with a discerning eye, and try to see what buyers will see.
Invest in a refresh of your curb appeal: clean up flower beds, add fresh mulch, plant some flowers, power wash the house and driveway, and get the windows cleaned – every detail counts!
Then move inside and do the same thing – The first thing you’re going to do is Declutter. Declutter. And DE-CLUTTER. And when you’re done with that… declutter some more.
From a buyer’s perspective, there’s nothing worse than looking at a home and feeling like you’ve just barged into someone’s house uninvited – you see their shoes, their mail, all the counter clutter – it makes it almost impossible for the buyer to envision THEIR life in that space. So try to remove all personal items that are sitting out – including family photos.
Also consider painting the living spaces all the same color – a nice light neutral color. Reach out to me for my suggestions on the best neutrals. You want your home to appeal to a wide range of buyer tastes, so a simple, tidy aesthetic works best.
STAGING: Another thing you should NOT SKIP in your preparations is staging. I could do an entire blog on staging alone (and I probably will) because this is a crucial step that many sellers skip – and I don’t understand why because staged homes sell for up to 5% more money and they sell much faster. Now, if you don’t want to spend thousands on staging and your listing agent doesn’t include it as part of their services, at LEAST have a stager come through and give you recommendations: move the furniture around, add a fluffy rug under that coffee table, remove half of the decor on your built-ins, etc. Most stagers will charge just a few hundred dollars for a consultation and help you improve on the aesthetic with your own stuff.
If you are moving out before the sale, having the home staged is a GREAT idea. Interestingly, an empty room will often feel much smaller than a properly staged room.
INSPECTIONS: The last step in the preparation phase is getting your own home inspection. I know. I know, You’re thinking “but Emily – why would I pay for an inspection when the buyer is going to pay for their own inspection?” That is valid. BUT. When you get your own home inspection, you can decide what you want to fix and then disclose the rest to potential buyers with the caveat that it’s all been factored into the asking price. I promise you, this will save you money and headache later on in the transaction. If you wait for the buyer to do their inspections, they will likely ask you for THOUSANDS of dollars worth of repairs. Even if your home is in excellent condition, they will find things to ask for. I can tell you from being a buyers agent, I always recommend my buyers find something to ask for. But if you’re a seller and you’re my client, I’m going to recommend that you do this so that buyers have little to nothing they can ask for.
I cannot stress enough how important the marketing strategy is when selling a home. In 2025, prospective homebuyers really need to get a feel for just how great your house is based on the FIRST impression, which is all about marketing.
A recent study showed that half of all homebuyers will find their home online. And OVER half of them will search on youtube! So interview agents and ask how they are going to market your home on the internet. Are they going to run YouTube Ads, Google Ads, Facebook & Instagram Ads, posts on LinkedIn, TikTok, etc? The more buyers you reach, the more action you’ll get, and that leads to the best case scenario for YOU.
This video for example – I am able to target the video toward people who are looking to sell their home in the next 6 months. So when I’m running an Ad for a listing, I can target it toward people who Google knows are looking to BUY a home soon.
3. Do NOT limit Access to your home.
You’ve prepared your home, you’ve expertly marketed your home online, and now you need to get people INSIDE your home! There are 2 parts to “Access”. First, make your home as accessible and easy to show as possible. If you are living in the home while it’s on the market, have a system in place to quickly tidy up and get out of the home for showings. I always recommend my sellers use a basket to throw in all valuables and any clutter that’s sitting out. Just toss it all in and take it with you. Often a buyer will be out house-hunting with their agent, drive by your home and see the sign in the lawn, and call to see if they can get a showing. Try and make it as easy as possible for buyers to see your home.
The 2nd part of Access is the offer of compensation to the buyer’s agent. I know – you’re thinking “I’ve seen the recent news articles that say all that is now negotiable”. Well, it’s ALWAYS been negotiable. The laws have changed about how the commissions are advertised, but nothing has changed in California regarding the right to negotiate commission rates and who pays them. That being said, by NOT offering to compensate the buyer’s agent, you’re putting that responsibility on your buyer. The vast majority of buyers are spending every dollar they can for the down payment and closing costs on their new home, with nothing left over to pay the buyer’s agent commission.
I can tell you from experience, most buyers instruct their agent to NOT show them any homes where the seller is not offering to compensate the buyers agent. Considering that most sellers DO offer this compensation, and it’s baked into the price of the home, it’s a good idea to be open to offering this compensation.
#4 Do NOT overprice your home!
Pricing your home accurately in 2025 is of the utmost importance. Honestly, all of these 4 things are so important, but pricing is probably the most important.
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard “let’s just price it high and someone can offer less if they want … we’ll lower the price later if we don’t get any offers”. This sounds fine on the surface, but in reality it doesn’t work out that way. In 2025, especially in our market in the Conejo Valley, over-priced homes sit and sit and sit and sit… and then they drop the price, and by the time it sells, it’s usually for a price well below market value.
In 2025, homebuyers are incredibly savvy when it comes to price. They are looking at 100’s of listings online and touring probably 20-30 before they find “the one”. They know right away when a home is overpriced… and it’s a big turn off. In that case, most buyers feel that the seller is an “unreasonable” person, and will be difficult to deal with. This is likely the most expensive decision of their life, so they usually just move on to the next.
Pricing your home a little bit under market value will generate more interest and more showings, which results in more offers, which then puts YOU, Seller, in the power position to get the price and terms that you want.
To recap:
Do NOT skimp on preparations.
Do NOT hire an agent without vetting their marketing plan.
Do NOT limit access to your property once listed.
Do NOT over-price your home.
If you’re looking for a Realtor in or around Thousand Oaks, Westlake Village, or Agoura Hills area, I would love to meet with you and interview for the job. Be sure to download my FREE e-booklet and then reach out and schedule an appointment.
emily(at)emilyberdon(dotted)com
805.870.2121
CALBRE #02166248
Keller Williams Westlake Village