As a homeowner, you need to be on your A-game when it comes to selling your home. Even after you’ve finished staging your home and getting professional real estate photos taken, there’s still work to be done to impress potential buyers during home showings. Learn how to sell your home fast and avoid common mistakes with these 20 showing tips for sellers!
Dos of Showing Your Home
Getting your home ready for showings doesn’t have to be overwhelming—small details can make a big impact on potential buyers. Follow these simple home showing tips to make your space feel clean, inviting, and move-in ready.
Do Declutter & Clean Before Showings
Decluttering your home and keeping it clean is essential—especially before open houses or scheduled showings. Wipe down counters, put away laundry and toys, vacuum floors, and clear everyday messes so each space looks its best. Avoid simply stuffing clutter into closets, spare rooms, or the garage since buyers will likely look there, too. The goal is to present a clean, organized, and spacious home that feels well-cared for.
Do Stage Your Home Again
Even if you’ve already staged your home for showings, daily life can quickly disrupt the setup. Before buyers arrive, take time to straighten furniture, fluff pillows, and return decor to its proper place. Small touches—like adding a few accent pillows or a folded throw blanket—can instantly refresh a room and make it feel more inviting.
Do Present Your Home as Advertised
High-quality real estate photos help attract buyers online, but your home should feel just as appealing in person. If buyers walk in and notice missing furniture, staging that doesn’t match the listing photos, or visible wear and tear, it can create disappointment right away. Before each showing, do a quick walkthrough to make sure your home still looks polished and true to the online listing.
Do Minimize Traces of Pets
While pets are part of many households, it’s best to minimize their presence during a real estate showing. Put away pet beds, toys, food bowls, kennels, and litter boxes, and take steps to clean up pet hair and neutralize lingering odors. Strong pet smells or visible items can distract buyers and may even raise concerns about the home’s overall condition. A fresh, neutral environment helps buyers focus on the home itself rather than the pets that live there.
Do Turn On All of the Lights
While this isn’t a make-or-break scenario for selling a house, it’s helpful to turn on all the lights prior to a home showing—particularly if the showing is in the evening. Buyers and agents will likely turn lights on and off as they tour the home, but leaving the lights on can make your home feel more welcoming and brighten up dimly-lit areas that make your home seem smaller.
Do Let Natural Light In
One of the best tips for selling your home is to open blinds and curtains before home showings to let in natural light. This can instantly make a home feel brighter and more welcoming. If your home has scenic views or attractive outdoor spaces, highlighting them can be a major selling point. Plus, natural light is great for staging small spaces, as it makes them feel larger.
Do Set a Comfortable Temperature
A home that’s too hot or too cold can leave buyers feeling uncomfortable and distracted. Even if you normally adjust the thermostat to save money, it’s worth keeping your home at a comfortable temperature during showings. A cozy, pleasant environment helps buyers focus on the space—not the weather.
Do Create a Welcoming Environment
Creating a warm, welcoming atmosphere is one of the best home selling tips. Soft background music, simple refreshments, and fresh flowers can make your home feel more inviting. Paired with a clean space and good lighting, these small details can leave a lasting, positive impression.
Do Make Your Bed Every Day
If you’re not already in the habit of making your bed every day, now is a good time to start. You never know when a last-minute showing request might come through, and a neatly made bed can instantly make a bedroom feel cleaner and more put together.
Do Check the House Before You Leave
Before every showing, do a final walkthrough of the entire property—including storage spaces, the basement, the garage, and the backyard. Empty the trash, tidy up overlooked areas, and make sure everything feels fresh and inviting. Consider finishing touches like adding fresh flowers or running citrus peels through the garbage disposal for a clean scent that leaves a good first impression.
Don’ts of Showing Your Home
Knowing what to avoid when preparing for a home showing is just as important as knowing what to do. Explore these common home showing mistakes to learn what not to do so you can leave the best possible impression on potential buyers.
Don’t Fall Behind on Daily Chores
Last-minute home viewings are fairly common, so it’s important to keep up with daily cleaning routines while your home is on the market. A good tip for selling your house is to set up regular maintenance routines so tasks like dishes and laundry don’t pile up on you. It might be more work on a daily basis, but it will save you a lot of stress when opportunities arise to show your home.
Don’t Ignore Minor Repairs
Small maintenance issues can stand out more than you think. Dripping faucets, burnt-out bulbs, or squeaky doors may seem minor, but buyers often interpret them as a lack of upkeep. Taking care of simple home improvements and adding fresh paint where needed can help your home feel well-maintained and move-in ready.
Don’t Forget About Curb Appeal
First impressions start before buyers walk through the door—so curb appeal is something you can’t forget about when staging a home to sell. Keep the lawn trimmed, spruce up the landscaping, sweep walkways, and clean windows and doors. Adding simple touches like potted plants or seasonal flowers can instantly improve curb appeal and help your home feel more inviting.
Don’t Leave Out Quirky Decor
Bold decor, niche collectibles, or heavily themed spaces can distract buyers and make it harder for them to picture themselves living in the home. When showing a home for sale, keep decor simple, neutral, and uncluttered so buyers can focus on the space itself.
Don’t Display Valuable or Personal Belongings
Put away personal and valuable belongings—like family photos, awards, financial documents, medications, jewelry, religious decor, or sentimental keepsakes—before showings. Personal items can make it harder for buyers to envision themselves in the home, while valuables and sensitive information should always be secured for your safety and peace of mind.
Don’t Cook Foods with Strong Smells
Have a home showing coming up? It’s a good idea to plan your meals around your showing schedule. While you might love the smell of your cooking, you don’t want to turn away potential buyers with overpowering scents of garlic, onion, fish, or other pungent foods. Smells might be temporary, but the impression they leave on buyers can last—so try to avoid cooking anything with strong odors.
Don’t Stay Home During Showings
One of the most important tips for showing your home to potential buyers is to leave before the buyer arrives. Buyers are more comfortable exploring and discussing the home freely when the homeowner isn’t present. Plan to leave your home about 20 minutes before the scheduled showing in case the real estate agent and potential buyers arrive early.
Don’t Keep Your Pets at Home
Selling a home with pets can be challenging. Understandably, you’d want to avoid the hassle of moving them every time there’s a showing, but don’t leave them at home—not even in a kennel. Potential buyers could have allergies, be afraid of animals, or your pet might simply be an unpleasant distraction while the buyer is in your home. The best way to sell your house is to make sure you have a plan to get your pets out of the house for all home showings.
Don’t Leave Doors Open
While potential buyers will likely open closets and cabinets as they walk through your home, don’t leave any doors open for a property showing—except those leading into other rooms, of course. Keeping storage space doors closed helps rooms feel larger, less cluttered, and more organized, which can create a good impression during home showings.
Don’t Turn Away Home Showings
It’s in your best interest to be flexible with showings, as it can help your home sell faster. If your agent lets you know someone wants to see the house, even if it’s at an inconvenient time, try to make it work. Of course, there are instances when asking for another time is fine—such as when your children are asleep for the night—but you should generally be prepared to leave the home at any time, whether it’s convenient or not.
***
Need somewhere to store belongings while staging and showing your home? With convenient storage facilities throughout the nation, Extra Space Storage is here to help. Find affordable storage units near you!
