Getting your home ready for buyers can be stressful, and it is easy to slip up even with a good agent by your side. Most sellers may not realize what really matters when showing a home or how quickly small details can turn buyers off. Simple missteps like poor lighting and cluttered rooms can hurt your chances and your final sale price. We walk through the most common mistakes and share practical home showing tips to help you avoid them.
Neglecting Curb Appeal
First impressions begin at the curb. Overgrown landscaping, peeling paint or broken light fixtures all send a subtle message about how well the home has been maintained. Even if the interior is beautiful, a neglected exterior can reduce interest and lower perceived value. Simple improvements can make a huge difference, like trimming shrubs, mowing and edging the lawn, power washing hard surfaces and touching up paint. Make sure house numbers are visible, the porch light works, and any safety hazards (like loose steps) are addressed.
Poor Presentation: Clutter, Odors, Décor and Lighting
Cluttered rooms, crowded countertops and heavily personalized décor can make spaces feel smaller and prevent buyers from picturing their own lives there. Strong odors, from pets, smoking, or cooking, are an immediate red flag. Bold or very dark paint colors may look fine in person but often photograph poorly, while dim or inconsistent lighting can make even a good-sized room feel dreary. One of the most effective home showing techniques is to remove visual and sensory distractions: declutter more deeply than feels comfortable and pack away family photos and collections. Pay special attention to kitchens, bathrooms and closets. Buyers almost always open doors and cabinets. Your goal is not to showcase your belongings but the space so buyers can instantly imagine themselves at home.
Skipping Repairs, Inspections and Basic Prep
Some sellers hope that obvious repairs will go unnoticed or that buyers will simply accept the home “as is.” In practice, visible issues and deferred maintenance tend to show up early, either during showings or in the inspection report. That can scare buyers away, trigger aggressive repair requests, or even cause a deal to fall apart. Addressing safety issues, leaks, and major system concerns before or early in the listing period goes a long way toward building buyer confidence. Even if you don’t do a full pre-listing inspection, taking care of loose doorknobs, squeaky hinges, damaged trim and dripping faucets prevents small distractions from piling up in a buyer’s mind during showings.
Weak Listing Photos
Because most buyers start their search online, the digital version of your home is often their first experience of the property. Dark, cluttered, or poorly framed images can fail to capture the home’s strengths and may cause buyers to scroll past without ever scheduling an in-person visit. Minimal descriptions or missing key details can have the same effect. Investing in professional-quality photos and a thoughtful marketing plan is a must. Bright, wide, well-composed images combined with clear, informative descriptions make it far more likely that the right buyers will want to see the home. Adding floor plans, virtual tours and accurate room measurements can further help buyers visualize the layout and encourage serious showings rather than casual curiosity.
Making It Hard to Show the Home
A well-presented property still needs one more thing: accessibility. Limiting showings to narrow time windows, repeatedly rescheduling or insisting on heavy restrictions can frustrate buyers and their agents. If seeing the property is inconvenient, many buyers will simply move on to other options. When you’re showing a home while still living in it, flexibility matters. Being as accommodating as your schedule allows greatly increases your chances of attracting serious interest. Using a lockbox when appropriate, allowing evening and weekend visits and giving clear instructions about pets and alarms are practical tips for showing your home that remove friction for buyers and their agents.
Staying Home During Showings
It’s natural to want to be present to point out features or answer questions, but staying in the house during showings is almost always counterproductive. Buyers tend to feel uncomfortable, rushed or reluctant to share their true thoughts when the owner is just a room away. That discomfort can shorten showings and prevent an emotional connection with the home. Stepping out while the home is being shown allows buyers to explore freely, discuss openly with their agent and imagine the space as their own. Before you leave, secure valuables and set the temperature at a comfortable level so the home feels welcoming from the moment buyers walk in.
Ignoring Professional Advice and Feedback
You may hire an agent, but still inadvertently undermine the showing strategy. Ignoring recommendations on staging, timing or availability, and even being slow to respond to feedback, can weaken your position in the market. When you and your agent are not aligned, opportunities are missed, and momentum is lost. Treat this as a business partnership. Ask questions until you understand the rationale behind the plan, then commit to it. Pay attention to patterns in showing feedback. If multiple buyers mention the same concern about odor, clutter or price, it’s a sign to adjust. Reliable agents will incorporate that feedback into their home showing tips to make every subsequent visit more effective.
Letting Emotions Take Over
Once showings lead to an offer, it’s easy to get emotionally attached to the “perfect” price or feel insulted by repair requests after inspection. When emotions take over, negotiations can become tense, and deals can be jeopardized over relatively small issues. That stress sometimes makes sellers forget how hard they worked to get strong showings in the first place. It helps to view inspections and negotiations as standard steps, not personal judgments. Focus on major and safety-related items first, and lean on your agent’s guidance when deciding which repairs to address, which to credit, and where it’s appropriate to stand firm.
Sloppy Move-Out and Final Walkthrough Surprises
The last impression a buyer has of your property is during the final walkthrough. Rushed move-outs that leave holes in walls, scuffed floors, trash or forgotten belongings can create unnecessary tension at the eleventh hour. Buyers may feel disappointed or even question how the home has been treated overall. Planning ahead for move-out, such as patching and touching up obvious damage, thoroughly cleaning and removing all personal items and debris, helps ensure a smooth, positive handoff.
Ready to sell smarter, not harder? Connect with your local REMAX agent today for a personalized home-selling strategy and expert tips for showing your home.
