Price It Correctly

This is where most sellers get into trouble. Everyone believes their home is worth more than the market says it is. That is natural. You have memories in that house. You have put money into upgrades. You know what your neighbor's home sold for. But the market does not care about any of that. The market cares about what a buyer is willing to pay right now based on what else is available.

In Rutherford County right now, one out of every three homes on the market has already had a price reduction. In the $400,000 range, about 24% of listings are relists, meaning they were on the market before and did not sell. Above $700,000, that number jumps to over a third. The pattern is clear. Homes that are overpriced do not just take longer to sell. Many of them do not sell at all.

The data also shows us something important about the gap between what the MLS reports and what is actually happening. The MLS might show 40 days on market in a given price range, but the true days on market is closer to 58 when you account for relists. That difference matters because it means a lot of sellers are spending months trying to sell a home that was priced wrong from the start.

Pricing correctly does not mean pricing low. It means pricing where the data tells you buyers are actually engaging. A home priced at market value from day one will generate showings, create urgency, and often sell for close to or at asking price. A home priced 5% above market will sit, eventually take a price cut, and often sell for less than it would have if it was priced right from the beginning.

Present It Correctly

Presentation is the second P and it is where a lot of sellers leave money on the table. A buyer's first impression of your home happens online. Before they ever schedule a showing, they are scrolling through photos on their phone. If those photos do not stop them from scrolling, they are moving on to the next listing.

Presentation starts with the condition of the home. That does not mean you need a full renovation. It means the home should be clean, decluttered, and show well. Fix the things that jump out — the scuffed baseboards, the leaky faucet, the burned out light bulbs. These are small things but they add up in a buyer's mind.

Then there is photography. Professional photos are not optional in this market. The difference between phone photos and professional real estate photography is the difference between a buyer clicking "schedule a showing" and scrolling past your listing. In a market where the average listing is only getting two showings per week across Rutherford County, you cannot afford to lose a single one to bad photos.

Staging also matters, especially in vacant homes. An empty house feels smaller and colder than a furnished one. You do not need to stage every room, but the main living areas and primary bedroom should give buyers a sense of how the space lives.

Promote It Correctly

The third P is where your agent earns their commission. Putting a home in the MLS and waiting for buyers to find it is not a marketing strategy. That is the bare minimum. In a market where inventory is up 42% over the three-year average, your home is competing against 1,377 other listings in Rutherford County. It needs to stand out.

Effective promotion means your home is being marketed across multiple channels. That includes the MLS, social media, email marketing to active buyers and agents, video walkthroughs, targeted digital advertising, and direct outreach to agents who have buyers looking in your price range and area.

It also means your agent should be tracking what is happening after the home goes live. How many views is the listing getting online? How many showings have been scheduled? What feedback are buyers giving after they tour? If the numbers are not where they should be, your agent should be bringing you solutions, not just updates.

Too many agents list a home and then go silent. You should be hearing from your agent weekly with data on how your home is performing compared to the competition.

Why This Matters Right Now

The spring market in Murfreesboro is already underway. Pending sales are up 12.5% over the three-year average. Buyers are out there and they are making offers. But they also have options. With more inventory available than we have seen in years, buyers can afford to be selective.

If you are thinking about selling, the opportunity is real. But so is the competition. The sellers who get all three P's right are the ones who end up at the closing table. The ones who miss on even one of them are the ones who end up pulling their listing six months later wondering what went wrong.

If you want to see the full data behind what is happening in the Rutherford County market right now, this week's market update covers inventory, showings, pricing trends, and more by price range.