4 Things Home Sellers Need from their REALTOR®

Louisiana REALTORS® • October 25, 2023

You wouldn’t want a doctor that does the bare minimum to treat your symptoms. You wouldn’t want a mechanic to do the smallest repair possible to get your car running. Keeping with this theme you also wouldn’t want a REALTOR® that did the minimum amount of work to sell your home. Just like a minimal treatment could lead to a returning ailment, and a minor repair can’t fix a major problem; simply sticking a sign in the yard and posting on the MLS isn’t going to provide the best results for a seller. Here are four things that REALTORS® should do for their clients that are selling a home.


Promote and Market the Property


This is a key practice that every REALTOR® should embrace and excel at. Marketing is to real estate as bait is to a fisherman. Today there are more avenues to attract buyers than ever before. One of the most essential elements is photography. High-quality photographs of a property will be any potential buyer’s first impression of your client’s home. Social media and a strong web presence are also critical to create the best opportunity for a successful sale.


Find the Best Price


Having an effective pricing strategy stems from a number of skills. Using the experience and expertise of a REALTOR® will help you arrive at the best possible price. Without this vital step, it can end up costing a lot of time and money. Understanding the market and researching comparable sales are important factors for determining the best price. There is a fine line to walk between what is a correctly priced property and the price that your client wants. While it can be difficult not to give in to an optimistic figure, your REALTOR® is obligated by the code of ethics to do what is best, not to offer what you want to hear. Pricing too high can lead to an extended time on the market, which is not favorable. Pricing too low can leave a lot of money on the table. This is why arriving at the correct price for your market and timeframe is essential.


Attend the Inspection


When a home is inspected it can often lead to a secondary round of negotiations. Cost concessions and repair agreements all affect your motivation and final price. Having an available REALTOR® to observe and listen makes for a valuable resource and gives you the opportunity to understand the evolving landscape of the transaction.


Prepare for the Closing


A REALTOR’S® value comes from their experience and expertise in guiding their clients through a complex and complicated process. This is never truer than during a home closing. The more your REALTOR® can do for you in this final stage only adds to the value of a REALTOR®.

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Consumer Guide Update: Staging Your House For A Sale

By Louisiana REALTORS® • March 20, 2026
NAR is pleased to share the latest consumer guide that explains the concept of home staging, offers DIY staging tips and missteps and shares the latest NAR member sentiment on how staging can help buyers better visualize the property as their future home and potentially net sellers a higher price. As a reminder, all guides in this series are available for download—in both English and Spanish—on facts.realtor . Please allow up to two weeks for the Spanish version of the latest resource to be translated and uploaded. For ease of reference, below is a list of the most recent guides: NEW: Staging Your House for a Sale Spotting Deepfake Scams in Real Estate Are You Ready to Invest in Real Estate? Thinking of Selling? 7 Factors to Consider How to Make Your Home More Energy Efficient Thank you for your continued engagement with the “Consumer Guide” series and for sharing the resources with prospective clients to ensure they have the information they need to find success in their home buying or selling journey. Remember that these guides are for informational purposes only and are not meant to enact or change any existing NAR policy. Be on the lookout for the next consumer guide, which discusses home mortgage options that allow buyers to fold in renovation costs.

2026 Legislative Session Scoop - Week 2 Recap

By Louisiana REALTORS® • March 20, 2026
With legislative work wrapped for week two of the session, here is your look back at what took place inside the halls of the Capitol. This week was defined by one major theme: workforce. Across both chambers, lawmakers moved a substantial package of measures focused on workforce development and reforms to Louisiana’s labor and workers’ compensation systems. House Labor Committee One of the busiest areas of activity was the House Labor Committee, which met Thursday morning and took up a slate of bills tied to employment policy, workforce structure and independent contractor issues like measures on portable benefits. The committee’s work underscored the broader push this session to modernize Louisiana’s workforce. Workers’ Compensation Reform The conversation around workers’ compensation reform also gained serious momentum. On the House side, additional labor-related bills addressed independent contractor definitions and other employment law issues. This week marked one of the first major pushes of the session on labor and workforce policy. House & Governmental Affairs Beyond labor-focused legislation, activity also continued in other key committees. In the House & Governmental Affairs Committee, lawmakers advanced multiple bills dealing with the timing of bond and tax elections. Tax, Commerce and Property Looking back at the broader week-two agenda, the Legislature also began considering several tax, commerce, and property-related measures, including proposals impacting property tax assessments, homestead exemptions, and the issues affecting private property. While workforce dominated the week, these issues are starting to gain traction as the session moves forward. A portion of our legislative package will be heard next week as HB 468 moves to the House Commerce Committee and HB 292 moves to the House Civil Law and Procedure Committee. Be on the lookout for any potential calls-to-action for these, or any other upcoming bills. Please view the weekly bill tracking report provided by our lobbying team over at Harris, DeVille and Associates.

2026 Legislative Session Scoop - Week 1 Recap

By Louisiana REALTORS® • March 13, 2026
Louisiana’s 2026 Regular Session opened this week with several developments that matter directly to REALTORS ®, property managers and housing providers, alongside some broader political shifts worth watching. HB 292: Security Deposit Return Timelines Rep. Delisha Boyd’s HB 292, which addresses procedures for returning residential security deposits, was deferred to next week. This provides additional time for stakeholders to engage with members on practical impacts for lease administration, move out inspections and documentation standards. We’ll continue working to ensure any changes to deposit law are clear, workable and do not expose housing providers to unreasonable liability. Land Use and Development: St. James Parish Decision The Louisiana Supreme Court’s recent St. James Parish decision significantly tightens the standards for overturning local land use decisions, reinforcing that zoning and permitting authority rests with parish and municipal governments as long as their decisions are not arbitrary or capricious. For real estate and development, that means more predictability if projects are aligned with adopted plans and ordinances, but also higher stakes in local elections, planning processes and parish-level negotiations. Governor’s State of the State In his State of the State address, Governor Jeff Landry reiterated his push to phase out the state income tax, expand the LA GATOR and MJ Foster scholarship and workforce programs, and replace vehicle inspection stickers with a QR code system. These programs frame a debate around long-term competitiveness, workforce readiness and household cost of living which are all key drivers of housing demand and migration patterns. Business & Market Trends The business community is focusing the session on insurance, workforce and energy. Commercial and property insurance costs remain a top concern for employers and property owners, and we are monitoring civil justice and insurance reform proposals that could affect market stability and availability. At the same time, Louisiana is seeing more than $100 billion in announced industrial and data center projects, which could reshape local markets, labor conditions and housing needs in multiple regions of the state. Please view the weekly bill tracking report at the link below provided by our lobbying team over at Harris, DeVille and Associates.
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