Why Isn’t Your Home Selling – Three Critical I See Sellers Making Right Now
If there’s one mistake I see sellers making over and over again—especially in today’s shifting market—it’s not asking the right questions when hiring a listing agent.
Too often, homeowners hire agents based on surface-level criteria. I’m still surprised by how many people never even ask how much experience I have! And while years in the business matter, that’s not actually the most important question anymore.
1. Ask About Recent Transaction History—Not Just Years Licensed
Real estate is hyper-local and hyper-timed. What worked in 2020 doesn’t always work now. Buyer psychology, interest rates, inventory levels, and negotiation dynamics have all changed. You need an agent who’s been in the trenches recently, not just someone who got licensed decades ago.
That’s why instead of simply asking, “How long have you been in real estate?” you should be asking:
How many homes have you personally sold in the last 5 years?
How many homes have you sold just in the last 12 months?
I talk to agents every day who proudly say they’ve been licensed for 20 years (and I have been licensed almost 25) —but they’ve only closed two or three homes in the past few years. Meanwhile, they’re out there trying to negotiate against buyers (and agents) who are savvy, picky, and highly sensitive to even the smallest misstep. One poorly phrased comment, a hesitation in tone, or a misread of a buyer’s priorities can cause a deal to evaporate before it even starts.
That level of reading the room—and thinking 20 steps ahead—only comes from having thousands of conversations and managing hundreds of negotiations in today’s market.
2. Hire Someone Who Knows How Buyers Are Valuing Homes Right Now
The second big mistake? Hiring an agent who doesn’t understand how to price and analyze your home in a way that lines up with how today’s buyers (and their agents) are valuing properties.
I was recently referred by several past clients to a seller in Steiner Ranch. I provided a detailed pricing analysis backed by 24 years of experience, 320 homes sold just in Steiner Ranch, and over 100 sold in the past five years alone. I included extensive documentation and a line-by-line breakdown of why the market value was where it was.
That same seller also interviewed and then hired another agent—someone who had only sold three resale homes in the last two years. Why? Because that agent gave them a price $200,000 higher than mine.
Here’s the kicker: that agent had only been licensed for under two years and came from working in new home sales for a builder. But working for a builder, where buyers simply walk in, prices are set, and negotiations are minimal, doesn’t teach you how to dissect comps, evaluate buyer behavior, or evaluate how certain upgrades or deficiencies affect resale value.
People often think these skills are covered in real estate school—they’re not. Pricing is an art as much as a science, and it’s learned only through years of seeing firsthand how buyers respond to specific homes, features, and price points.
Unsurprisingly, that Steiner Ranch listing is now languishing on the market for over 100 days, with multiple painful price reductions. And I’m seeing this exact pattern play out all across Austin, not just in Steiner Ranch.
3. Mistaking General Sales Background for Real Estate Expertise
Another big mistake? Accepting “sales experience” in some other industry as if it translates to selling your home.
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen agents boast, “I was a top producer in medical equipment sales,” or “I closed million-dollar B2B tech deals, so this is no different.”
It’s wildly different. Selling a widget or IT service is transactional, business-to-business sales—often spending someone else’s money. It’s typically logical, numbers-driven, and not tied to personal emotion.
Selling a home, on the other hand, is one of the most emotional, high-stakes purchases people ever make. They’re spending their own money, dealing with family needs, memories, dreams—and fears. It’s a completely different decision-making process.
Plus, a widget is a widget. A home is an intricate ecosystem with countless factors impacting its value: age, systems, finishes, floor plan, orientation, upgrades, deferred maintenance, and on and on. Knowing how to truly position and protect that value requires repetition—not just sales skill, but specific experience in selling homes.
That means thousands of conversations with buyers, sellers, and other agents. Reading subtle emotional cues. Knowing what questions reveal hidden deal-killers. Anticipating objections before they’re even voiced. Those are hard-won skills that only come from extensive time in residential real estate.
When it comes to hiring a listing agent, don’t settle for a résumé that sounds good on paper. Dig deeper.
✅ Ask how many homes they’ve sold recently.
✅ Make sure their experience is in residential real estate, not just some other sales field.
✅ Confirm they can back up pricing and marketing decisions with real data and a proven track record in today’s market.
Because what you really want is an agent who can protect your equity, keep your deal intact through nuanced negotiations, and ultimately get you the best possible result—without costly mistakes that only show up months later when your home is still sitting unsold.
