Those wild days are a speck in the rearview mirror now.

Buckle up — we’re back to a normal market where houses don’t sell themselves. Although we have been here for some time, this past couple of weeks have prompted me to reiterate this fact.

Last week, for instance, I toured a vacant home that I was preparing to list. This adorable little multi-level home was located in a prime, in-demand neighborhood and had been recently remodeled. As I walked through, I made a couple of minor recommendations that could help this little home sell faster and for top dollar.

All was going swimmingly until I approached the few steps leading to the last bedroom, which made up the entire square footage of the very last level. There was a definite odor, the reputed kiss of death for a new listing. To put it delicately, it smelled like a gym locker. I had to tell her. It wouldn’t do either of us any good to save her feelings at this point. I broke it to her gently, “This room seems to carry a scent profile of a high school football locker after a playoff game.”

She assured me she would address it immediately and we scheduled the pictures for the following day. Fortunately, photos can’t tell the story of a long-term dirty sock convention, so we went ahead. Once I got the pictures back, I quickly ran over to be sure the home was ready to “go live.” Unfortunately, just as I stepped inside, the overpowering mix of four gallons of Febreze drowning dirty laundry hit my nostrils like an unwelcome memory.

I opened all the windows and called my client. “I’m so sorry friend, but we have to get new carpet in this room, and I can help you repaint the walls tonight. There is just no other way to get what you need from this home without doing that,” I assured her.

“But everyone else’s house in the neighborhood has sold the first day with multiple offers, why do I have to do this?” I emphasized that most of her neighborhood moved during the 2020 price-surge showdown and we are just not there anymore. She validated that this was definitely the case and agreed to carpet and paint.

More recently I just returned from switching out all the lightbulbs on a new listing. The home was staged nicely, great area, and would have easily had the expected multiple offers during the homebuyer hunger games, but again, we are back to normal. My client had already moved out of the home and was initially going to use it as a rental but changed his mind. The home had been sitting vacant for a while before he decided to list.

As I entered the home, I noticed that it was too dark. All the blinds were down, the air conditioning was off, and the lighting was dim and yellow. I raised the blinds, turned on the air (with the permission of my client), and replaced all the lighting with bulbs that emitted a softer white light. The difference was notable.

As I was driving away, I called my client, “There are a few brown spots on the lawn. The sprinklers are running right now, and it is the hottest part of the day. Let’s get those reset for late night or early morning so we can quickly green up this lawn a little more,” I suggested. He agreed.

These little things — the ones you could totally skip back in the glory days of 2020 — now matter more than ever if you want to sell your home without it collecting dust. In this normal (read: no more bidding-war bonanza) market, attention to detail is key … and gone are the days when a half-hearted effort still got full price offers with a love letter attached.

Jen Fischer is an associate broker and Realtor. She can be reached at 801-645-2134 or jen@jen-fischer.com.