2025 Home Seller Resolutions

Every year, Ilyce and Sam offer their readers New Year’s resolutions for home buyers, home sellers and their personal finances. This year, they added their 2025 Housing Trends. These are their 2025 Home Seller Resolutions.

Buyers had a little more purchasing power in 2024, but two headwinds remained: Roughly 85 percent of homeowners carry interest rates below 6 percent and there are not enough homes to buy.

Sellers have been postponing selling. They sell if they have to. Roughly 4 million homes will change hands by the end of 2024. According to the National Association of Realtors 2024 Migration survey, those relocating were driven primarily by the desire to be closer to family and friends (30%) and to get more home for the money (21%).

But sellers clearly don’t want to give up a 3 or 4 percent interest rate loan and then turn around and buy a far more expensive home with a higher interest rate. So, they’re staying where they are and investing in home improvements.

The good news for those who want to sell is there’s far less competition. You’ll sell faster and get more for your money. Commissions, always negotiable, may be falling slightly in the wake of the National Association of Realtors settlement.

If you’re going to sell your home in 2025, here are some resolutions you might want to make before sticking a sign in your front yard:

2025 Home Seller Resolution #1: Decide whether you need an agent

We’ve long felt that real estate agents are helpful, especially when the overall housing market favors buyers. But when the market favors sellers, you might want to try selling your home by owner and saving the commission. If not, then negotiate with the agent to knock down the commission a bit.

Should you do a pocket listing? Many brokers will try to sell your home privately, to another agent who works for the same broker. We’re on the record as saying we don’t love this because publicly listing your home raises awareness and should produce a better offer. But if it takes a few days for the broker to get your home listed, or if you need to do work and the broker can talk it up to other brokers in the firm, and you get a quick sale, maybe that works in a market where there are few buyers.

2025 Home Seller Resolution #2: Figure out where you’re going and how much you can spend ahead of time

In the National Association of Realtors 2024 Migration Trends Report, southern states (Florida, Texas, and the Carolinas) are the big winners when it comes to migration. Florida was the state with the highest net migration (372,870 people), followed closely by Texas (315,301), North Carolina (126,712), and South Carolina (91,853).

Why are people moving? Those relocating were driven primarily by the desire to be closer to family and friends (30%) and to get more home for the money (21%). Specific homes were chosen based on its outdoor space (42%), additional square footage (31%) and because it’s in a quieter area (24%).

If you’re feeling like a move is in your (very) near future, take some time to think through your options ahead of time. Make sure you understand why you’re moving. Walk through different neighborhoods at different times of the day and night. Book a weekend trip to experience life in other areas before you start shopping for a home. Use online tools to figure out how much your home is worth and use cost of living calculators to see what your money will buy in various locations.

Make sure you think carefully about how long you’ll plan to stay in your new home before you sell. And, when you want to be in your new home. Because if you sell quickly but then can’t find a place to buy, you might make a fast mistake – and pay for it later – or wind up renting and doing two moves.

2025 Home Seller Resolution #3: Take care of the small stuff before you list

Every home needs work. Including yours. Expect your buyer’s professional home inspector to find everything that’s wrong with your home. This year, we watched as a sticky door almost torpedoed a condo being sold by one of Sam’s clients.

There are two things you can do before listing your home that will pay off: First, fix all the small stuff; and, give your home a very thorough cleaning. Include the rugs and floors, especially if you have pets. A fresh lick of paint goes a long way toward assuaging the fears of future buyers.

Putting your home in the best shape possible provides the opportunity to generate the maximum amount of interest. And, that should help deliver the best possible offer.

2025 Home Seller Resolutions