How do showings work when you sell a house in Virginia, and how do you get useful feedback?

Showings are how buyers and their agents tour your home while it’s on the market. Your listing agent schedules them, the visits happen while you’re out, and the feedback afterward is some of the most useful information you’ll get while the home is on the market.

Here’s how it works in practice, and how to avoid the two classic mistakes: making the home hard to see, and overreacting to one comment.

How are showings scheduled?

A buyer’s agent requests a time, and your listing agent confirms it with you. Many listings use a lockbox, so the agent can open the home with the access arranged in your listing instructions.

You decide how much notice you need and when the home is off limits. The more flexible you are, the more buyers see it. The trade-off is real: a stricter schedule is easier on your family but can mean missing a buyer who only has one evening to look.

What should I do before every showing?

Keep it clean enough that buyers focus on the house. Clear counters, open the blinds, turn on the lights and make beds. Take out the trash, and keep any smells in check.

Plan a routine you can run in ten minutes, because you’ll repeat it often in the first week or two. Put valuables, prescription medications, mail and anything with personal information out of sight or out of the house.

Should I be home, and what about pets?

Please leave. Buyers talk more openly and look longer when the owner isn’t there, and an owner nearby can make people uncomfortable opening closets.

Pets are the next problem. Even friendly ones can scare off a buyer or slip out an open door. Your agent can suggest the best way to handle yours, often a crate, a kennel stay or a walk.

How should I read the feedback?

Look for patterns, not single remarks. One buyer who didn’t like the kitchen is an opinion. Five who mention the same thing is information.

Agents’ feedback tends to land in a few categories: price, condition, layout and location. You can’t change the layout or the street, so the useful categories are price and condition. This is general guidance, not a rule, since feedback is shared at the buyer’s agent’s discretion and some agents won’t send any.

Your neighbor’s sale can be useful evidence. It should not be the entire pricing plan. If feedback keeps pointing at price compared with competing listings, ask your agent to walk through recent sales and active homes like yours.

When should I change something?

Decide ahead of time. Ask your agent: after how many showings or days will we review price and presentation together? Having that conversation before the listing goes live makes it easier to be objective later.

Your options are usually a price adjustment, better photos, small repairs or staging tweaks, or wider showing availability. I’d rather see one clear change than three small ones. It also helps to know the numbers behind your decision, so see our guide on how to price a home with few comparable sales, and on whether to make repairs before listing.

What should I do next?

Before you list, ask your agent to write down your showing instructions, your review date and who will send you feedback. If you’d like help setting that up for your home, talk to us about selling or visit our Glen Allen office. Written by Daniel Keeton.