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Do Bidding-War-Era Sellers Have Any Regrets?

A survey found that 84% of sellers who closed within the past two years cite at least one of four mistakes, including pricing incorrectly and ignoring curb appeal.

ORLANDO, Fla. – Of Americans who sold their home within the past two years, 84% wish they had done at least one thing differently, according to a Zillow survey. In addition, nine out of 10 (87%) think they could have made more money if they’d done something differently.

Regrets … I have a few

Regret No. 1: Pricing incorrectly

During the height of the pandemic, some homes sold at sky-high prices, leaving some sellers wishing they had listed their homes for more – the top regret in the survey.

Today, however, listing a home too high could cause it to sit on the market longer. Median time on the market is now 73 days, though well-priced listings only take 31 days to find a buyer.

A high list price today might also result in having to cut the asking price down the road. In January, nearly one-quarter of listings had a price cut (22%) – 10 percentage points higher than last winter.

“This spring’s sellers are more likely to regret pricing their home too high,” says Zillow senior economist Nicole Bachaud. “The price their neighbor commanded a year ago may no longer be realistic. Home sellers need to adjust their expectations if they want to avoid having their home linger on the market.”

Regret No. 2: Ignoring online curb appeal

In hindsight, 87% of first-time sellers wished they’d done something different. Nearly 40% believe better listing photos could have boosted their bottom line, while 25% think a virtual tour could have increased the selling price.

Regret No. 3: Bad timing

One-quarter of recent first-time home sellers (25%) wish they had listed their home at a different time. The ideal time to sell your home doesn’t always align with what is best in relation to the housing market, but if you have the flexibility to choose when to sell your home, do it in April, suggests Zillow research.

Many sellers also planned to buy a new home with the proceeds, and 36% of recent first-time sellers wish they’d known how long the selling process would take.

Regret No. 4: Skimping on repairs

With a smaller pool of buyers this spring home shopping season, sellers need to spruce up their homes to compete. But even during the hot seller’s market, more than one-quarter of sellers think they could have gotten a higher sale price if they had invested in more home improvements and repairs.

Roughly two-thirds (65%) of recent sellers took on at least two home improvement projects to prepare their home for sale, and of those, 74% believe the projects helped to sell their home.

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