What is the best thing you can do during showings of your house?
Go run some errands. Visit the neighbors, Walk your dog. Go to a movie. Anything but hang around the house, waiting to hover over buyers and their agents to make sure every little item is noticed. Usually, buyers know within a few minutes if they are interested in a house or not and there's absolutely no amount of talking, selling, pointing out of features and benefits that will change their minds. The harder anyone pushes, the quicker buyers want to escape.

Ever shopped in a store where the employees clearly work on commission and almost seem to lurk in the background, watching your every move, while you shop? The same holds true for buyers looking through a home, especially when they really need to find out how much closet space there is and other important details. In fact, most of the time buyers need to start mentally moving into a home before they are willing to make an offer. This essential transition is almost impossible when the current homeowners are hovering about.

This scenario doesn't really put you in the buying mood, does it?
It can be uncomfortable exploring a home when you also feel like you’re being watched. Making buyers feel comfortable when looking for a home is absolutely essential. Buyers tend to have little interest in asking you questions about your property because the answers you provide will certainly be biased in some way. Many times the best selling technique is allowing buyers to gather their own impressions with no interference at all. This is why you have hired a real estate agent to represent you and your home. Who better than a qualified professional to be the spokesperson for your home? Professionals listen for buying signs and one of the most important ones is when buyers start placing their furniture, a sure sign they are starting to take that mental leap of making their home in a particular house.

You carefully selected and hired a Realtor® to sell your house – now is the time to step back and let him or her do just that!