The way the real estate market has been over the past few years, sellers could pretty much call all of the shots.  From pricing too high, to really limiting the showings……buyers would still flock to put in an offer.  At the moment things have shifted and it’s imperative for sellers to make it as easy to show as possible….and important for listing agents to stress that point.  We’ve seen a number of homes sit on the market for quite a while in the recent months with others reducing their prices and some eventually pullled off of the market and one common theme seems to be that they are not easy to go and see.

Whether it’s requiring buyers to provide a preapproval letter or proof of funds to gain access, or requiring 24 hour notice, sellers needing the listing agents to be present, or no open houses….it just dramatically limits the number of buyers seeing the home and potentially having interest.

In the market of 6 months ago sellers could get away with this, but that no longer seems to be the case.  Sellers need to understand that limiting the traffic through a home on the market may likely lead to very few people seeing it.

I’ve worked with many a seller that think open houses are only for “lookie loos” and every prospective showing needs proof that they are viable…..that’s all fine and good but the bottom line is that the easier it is to show the more likely it is to sell.