Pricing a listing can be one of the trickiest parts of the home-selling experience, and it's very easy to get your pricing wrong if you rush through this part of the process. Over the years we've noticed a few relatively common mistakes that cause sellers to either over-price or under-price their listing. Here are 8 common mistakes to avoid as you go about the process of pricing your home. 

#1: Not taking seasonality into account

Time of year can have a big impact on a home's value. For instance, competing offers and bidding wars are most common in the springtime when buyers are out in droves. In the springtime it's easy to under-price a listing if the momentum of the market isn't taken into account. On the flip side it's easy to over-price in the

Over the years we've noticed some relatively common mistakes home owners make when putting their property up for sale. Unfortunately, each of these mistakes can cause a property to sit on the market and sell for well below its potential. Even worse are the emotional consequences that follow as a result. A bad listing experience can be emotionally draining and a huge source of anxiety and stress. 

The good news is all of these mistakes are preventable. You can avoid all of these common pitfalls by consulting with your agent well before you plan to list. Seek some proactive and professional guidance, and make the right choices that will lead to a successful sale.

Five Common Home Seller Mistakes

Below are 5 common pitfalls to avoid when selling

The National Association of REALTORS (NAR) has released it's 2017 Profile of Home Staging. The profile is based on a survey of several thousand agents and focuses on the impact of staging on the home selling process. 

Among the Key Findings:

• 77% of buyer agents say staging makes it easier for buyers to visualize a property as their future home
• 49% of buyer agents say staging a home increases the dollar amount offered
• 62% of listing agents say staging a home decreases the time on market

Other Interesting Data

The survey also reveals only 8% of real estate agents hire a professional to stage their listings. Our real estate team falls within that 8%. We hire Debbie Lea to stage our occupied homes and The Cozy Home to stage our

In addition to staging, there are 4 other low-cost, high-impact improvements that can dramatically increase your home's value and mass appeal. This 30 second video covers our top 4 home improvement tips.

12 Ways a Painter Can Help You Sell Your Home

Our #1 home improvement tip is to hire a professional painter to freshen up your home. Painting by a professional always pays for itself, usually many times over. Here are 12 ways a professional painter can add sparkle and value to your listing. 

1. Remove dated wallpaper and replace with a fresh coat of neutral paint. Kilim Beige from Sherwin Williams is a great all-around color for the purposes of selling a home. 
2. Replace bold colors with neutral colors that give your home more mass appeal. 

Our newest condo listing at 8237 Starr Grass Drive is off to an excellent start, thanks to stager, Debbie Lea, and photographer, Beau Meyer. Traffic has been very brisk and the feedback very positive during the first 4 days of the listing. We're looking forward to reviewing offers on Thursday, June 29th. Here's a little more info about this Midtown Commons condominium on Madison's west side. 

Photos & Features of 8237 Starr Grass Drive

This 2 bedroom/2.5 bathroom townhouse is value range priced from $185,000 to $195,000. The main level features 9' ceilings, upgraded flooring, and a gas fireplace with tile surround. 

An open concept dining area flows into the living room. 

A nice kitchen with breakfast bar, recessed lighting, and ample

Which price ranges are most competitive in the Madison real estate market? One way to measure the competitiveness (or popularity) of a price range is to look at the percent of offers within the range that involve competition from multiple buyers. In the Madison single family home market, our accepted offer data shows properties priced below $350,000 are in highest demand. Within this range, the most popular price category is $200k - $250k where a full 50% of all accepted offers involve competition from 2 or more buyers. 

In the Madison condo market, condominiums priced below $300,000 are most popular with buyers. Our 2017 data shows condos priced between $250k and $300k are in highest demand, with 43% of the accepted offers in this price category

In this year's hot real estate market, many Madison area property owners will learn they can successfully sell their home any month of the year. The reason is a long-term trend of low supply. Our latest single family home inventory report shows the Madison market has had less than 2 months of supply since December of 2015. 

More insight into our seller's market

Historically low inventory has created a large pool of unsuccessful buyers who are still searching for the right property. This is more than a hunch. MLS data shows the percentage of listings receiving competing offers is up significantly from last year. For example, 48% of all accepted offers in April involved competition from multiple buyers. Last April, the percentage was only 33%.

Our newest listing at 540 Highway 92 just outside of Belleville has been a lot of fun to work on so far. This property offers some beautiful views and a countryside setting just 15 minutes from Verona and 30 minutes from Madison. Justin Lackner has done a great job capturing the natural beauty surrounding the property. Here are a few of Justin's photos. 

Outdoor Photos of 540 Highway 92

This 2 acre property is set up on a hill with mature trees. The lot is surrounded by fields and rolling hills on all sides. 

This shot of the surrounding countryside is taken from the front yard. 

Here's another great shot of the countryside setting - taken from the side lot. 

From this property you can see for miles in all directions. 

These photos come from the historic "Johnson House", an 1875 farm house in McFarland. This property sold last month after receiving multiple offers and having 100 people attend the weekend open. You wouldn't know it from the pictures, but this was actually a staged, vacant home. The Cozy Home provided all of the staging and Beau Meyer shot all of the listing photos. The photos drove a huge amount of traffic to this listing and ensured a quick sale.

Photos of the Historic Johnson House in McFarland

Thanks to thoughtful staging and beautiful photography, all of these images convey a warm and cozy feel while capturing the rustic charm of the home. 

Photos of a Vacant Staged Condo

A different property, same concept. These

Yes, home staging really does work. According to a recent survey by the National Association of REALTORS, staging provides a great return on investment. Among the key findings:

• 96% of all buyer agents report their clients are positively impacted by home staging. 
• 81% of all buyer agents report home staging makes it easier for clients to visualize a property as their own. 
• 71% of all listing agents report staging increases a property's value by a minimum of 1%. 

In another report issued by the Real Estate Staging Association, properties staged prior to listing sell 90% faster than "un-staged" properties on the MLS. 

In our own experience, professional home staging is a huge reason why our sellers average a full-price offer within 15