This past week, I toured 20 homes across Arvada and Westminster with out-of-town buyers. Their price range? $600,000 to $700,000. They flew in with a list of 22 homes they wanted to see—handpicked from the 51 I had sent them. Two of those were under contract before their plane even touched down.
Those two? Consider them the lucky ones. Because the remaining 20 were still sitting. And they weren’t alone—28 others didn’t even make the cut.
What we saw told a much bigger story than just what was on the MLS.
Many of the homes were vacant—most of them clearly flips. While the photos online made several of them seem promising, the reality in person was often a letdown. Patchy workmanship, misaligned cabinets, basements left untouched with outdated paneling, baseboards with paint dripped, and overgrown or neglected backyards with dead grass. One home had garbage scattered throughout. Another had a notice on the door about the electricity being shut off. In one case, a destager showed up mid-showing, making for an awkward experience that said more about the seller’s urgency than the home's appeal.
These weren't just visual misses—they were trust breakers.
And here’s the bigger takeaway: being a listing agent in this market is not what it was a few years ago.
You can’t just upload your photos, hit “submit” on the MLS, and expect a dozen offers by the weekend. Today, being a listing agent means being real with your sellers—even when the truth is tough. It means knowing the competition, checking the comps that actually went under contract, and asking the hard questions:
Ø Why did that home get an offer and ours didn’t?
Ø Are we priced correctly, or just wishfully?
Ø Is the home really showing as well as it did in the photos, or has the first impression faded?
If the grass was green in the listing photos but it's now brown and patchy, that’s your first impression slipping. If the home feels hastily finished or poorly maintained, buyers notice—and they move on.
In today’s market, buyers are discerning. They have choices. If your listing is sitting while others are going under contract, it’s time to stop hoping—and start adjusting.
Put on your buyer hat. Walk through your listing like a real buyer would. Compare it to the competition, not just what’s available, but what has gone under contract recently. Ask yourself: Why did that buyer choose that home instead of yours?
And then—have the conversation with your seller. If something isn’t showing well, don’t shy away from addressing it. Show them the listings that are pending and talk through what it’s going to take to earn the next buyer’s offer.
But don’t just watch the ones that are still sitting. Pay attention to the ones that went under contract quickly—especially those that moved in less than two weeks. What did they have that yours doesn’t? Was it a more competitive price? Did they show better? Were they offering concessions or credits to win buyers over? These are the clues the market is giving us—it’s up to us as listing agents to listen, adapt, and guide our sellers accordingly.
Your role today isn’t just to market a listing—it’s to lead a strategy. That means watching the data in real time, walking your listings like a buyer, and having honest conversations with your sellers when the market shifts. The agents who embrace that reality will be the ones whose listings don’t just sit—they sell.