Most homeowners have clear and often optimistic ideas about the process of selling their house. Their home will stand out in the market. It will generate strong interest. It will attract multiple offers above the initial asking price. While these expectations are common, they’re also unrealistic. In a new survey by Clever Offers, recent sellers deliver a reality check.
The survey compares the experiences of those who sold homes between early 2024 and early 2025 with the expectations of those who plan to sell between mid-2025 and mid-2026. In many cases, future sellers are overly enthusiastic about the offer price and the number of offers they expect to receive.
They’re less hopeful about how long the process will take, so they may be glad to hear that recent home sales moved quickly. However, the housing market can change drastically in a year or two, so future sellers need to be prepared.
“What sellers quite often don’t realize is that buyer choices, the speed of the market, or neighborhood demand change at all times,” said Alexei Morgado, a Florida realtor and CEO of Lexawise. “What worked for a neighbor last year may not be something that applies today.”
Most Common Seller Expectations vs. Reality
Future sellers are highly confident that they’ll receive a good offer, with 72% saying offers will be above their asking price. However, only 42% of recent sellers noted that this happened to them, with a similar percentage (43%) adding that they had to lower their asking price.
That points to another common, yet unrealistic, expectation: 77% of future sellers don’t believe they’ll have to drop their listing price. In reality, only about 28% of homes sold above the asking price in the first half of 2025.
“Most sellers think their home is worth more than any buyer will actually pay,” said Rachel Fiegler, co-founder of Pinpointe Group, a boutique brokerage in New York City. “Emotion plays a huge role as they’re pricing the memories, not the square footage.”
Future sellers are also optimistic that their homes will receive multiple offers, with about 28% expecting six or more. Only 15% of recent sellers reported receiving that many. As of May 2025, for-sale homes received an average of 2.5 offers. This aligns with what 46% of future sellers expect and 52% of recent sellers received.
Not all the soon-to-be sellers’ expectations are positive — 94% worry they’ll make mistakes in the upcoming home sale. Their top concerns include pricing their home too low and losing money, choosing the wrong agent, and selling at the wrong time.
To this, experts advise leaning on data, not emotions. Hyper-local comps, current buyer behavior, and your home’s condition must all inform when you’ll sell and for how much. Also, don’t rely on online estimates of your property’s value, which can be inaccurate.
“Stop watching national news headlines; they don’t apply to your zip code,” said Elena Novak, Lead Real Estate Researcher and Analyst at Property Checker. “Instead, walk through a few open houses in your neighborhood before listing. See what buyers are actually comparing your home to.”
What’s Behind These Unrealistic Expectations?
Homeowners aren’t entirely at fault for their misconceptions about the selling process. Many of these unrealistic expectations are influenced by reality TV shows and social media, which often present only the best-case scenarios.
“Social media and real estate TV create fantasy expectations about quick sales and bidding wars that do not happen in normal markets,” said Wesley Kang, a Los Angeles realtor and founder of 1099Cafe. “New sellers think their house will sell in two weeks for the asking price because they watched too many HGTV shows and heard stories from 2021, despite the market being completely different now with higher rates and pickier buyers.
Would-be sellers tend to underestimate how quickly the real estate market can change, often because they only pay attention to it when they’re ready to move. The U.S. currently has approximately 1.9 million homes for sale, but only 1.5 million active homebuyers, a shift that is likely to lead to price drops.
Future sellers may not be watching interest rates either, which can completely reshape buyer budgets. Novak recalls how buyers were impacted when mortgage rates jumped from just under 3% to over 7% between early 2022 and mid-2023. Clients went from shopping for $800,000 homes to being capped at $600,000 for the same monthly payment.
“If you’re planning to sell in 2026, your pricing strategy needs to reflect what buyers can afford, not just what you hope to get,” she said.
Good News for Future Sellers
The Clever Offers study did reveal some positive news for homeowners. Recent sellers report the process as being less stressful than future sellers anticipate, with 27% saying it was easier than expected.
The sale was also quicker than expected, with about 40% of those who sold in the past year saying their home was on the market for less than two weeks. Only about 18% of future sellers think they’ll sell in this time frame. However, this is well below average, as homes spent a median of 51 days on the market in May. Plus, ongoing market shifts could work against those planning to sell within the next year.
“In just a year, we’ve seen buyers become far more price sensitive,” said Christine Sommer, co-founder of Liberties Homes in Philadelphia. “That could get even tougher if rates stay elevated or more inventory floods in.”
Another potential bright spot: while 76% of future sellers expect to make major pre-sale repairs, only 30% of past sellers had to. Similarly, 80% of homeowners anticipate making seller concessions, but only 31% of recent sellers did. This can save sellers thousands of dollars and significant time and stress.
It’s also reassuring for homeowners who think cash-buyer companies are their only option if they want to sell their property as-is. Costly renovations don’t necessarily carry the same weight they once did.
“The number one thing sellers overlook is fit,” Sommer said. “A beautifully renovated home won’t sell well if the style doesn’t match the neighborhood.”
Getting Real About the Home-Selling Process
Before listing their homes, future sellers need to shed expectations that may be rooted in a housing market that no longer exists or a fantasy fed by social media. This is especially true for those planning to sell their house by owner, as they won’t have a realtor’s expertise.
Rather than focusing on national trends, sellers should concentrate on their local town and neighborhood. Tour other for-sale properties to eye the competition. Also, consider whether new housing developments will impact your ability to sell — you may need to match builder incentives with concessions.
Above all, be realistic about the sale price. Being sentimental can cause a home to sit on the market for months. Rather than pricing the home based on your perceived worth, lean on local comps and let potential buyers be your guide.
“I always tell sellers: You’re not pricing your memories, you’re pricing a product,” Novak said. “If you want to sell quickly and profitably, treat it like a business decision, not a personal one.”