Which part of selling a home feels most intimidating?

Insight

The overwhelming concern for sellers is clear: the deal falling through after going under contract. This speaks to how emotionally and financially fragile the selling process can feel, even after an offer is accepted. With inspections, appraisals, buyer financing, and contract contingencies in play, many sellers worry that a sale is never truly “done” until closing day.

Interestingly, fewer respondents cited negotiation, pricing, or even the stress of prepping a lived-in home as the biggest hurdles. This suggests that for most sellers, the peak of anxiety doesn’t come at the start of the process, it comes after things seem to be going well.

What Most People Miss

What’s often overlooked is how much control sellers can maintain with the right preparation. While some deals do fall through, many issues can be anticipated, mitigated, or even avoided entirely with a strong agent and a clean process.

Some overlooked tactics include:

• Pre-inspections to catch red flags before listing.
• Clear expectations around contingencies.
• Staging and strategic repairs that boost buyer confidence.
• Flexible mindset when negotiating post-inspection*

*After a buyer conducts a home inspection, they often request repairs, credits, or price adjustments based on the findings. This stage can feel like a second round of negotiations, and it's where many deals start to wobble, or fall apart entirely, especially if the seller feels caught off guard or refuses to budge. Sellers who expect post-inspection negotiations and treat them strategically, tend to handle this phase with far less stress and better outcomes.

And let’s not forget the power of decluttering and organizing early, not just for presentation, but to ease the emotional load if things get bumpy. Sellers who go in prepared, mentally and logistically, often navigate those late-stage uncertainties with much more ease.

Which part of buying a home feels most intimidating?

Insight: Buyers fear what they can’t see or control

Buyers aren’t most worried about overpaying, they’re more concerned about what might be hiding behind the walls or buried in a contract. “Hidden problems with the home” came out on top, followed closely by the “mortgage approval process.” That’s telling: buyers are less intimidated by negotiating price and more by the uncertainties that could derail their plans, either structurally or financially.

These results reflect how deeply emotional the buying process is. What worries buyers most isn’t losing a deal, it’s getting stuck with one that turns into a nightmare. For sellers and agents, this is a reminder that transparency and education go a long way in building confidence.

What Most People Miss

While inspections are designed to reduce surprises, buyers often don’t fully understand what to expect, or what issues are actually common and manageable. Cosmetic flaws or minor inspection findings can feel overwhelming if buyers don’t have a framework for interpreting them.

At the same time, many underestimate how personal the mortgage approval process feels. It’s not just about numbers, it’s about revealing your financial life to strangers. Guiding buyers through this stage with empathy, and helping them prepare early, can ease one of the most emotionally charged parts of the journey.

For sellers and agents, this highlights the value of transparency and of helping buyers understand what’s normal versus what’s a real problem. Educating buyers on this aspect aligns their expectations, helps build confidence, and keeps deals from unraveling over misunderstandings.

Header image courtesy of Tatiana Costa and Sophia Costa-Martinez. 5500 Island Estates Drive #501, Aventura, FL. View property here.

_{Poll conducted across Fortune Christie’s social media platforms in 2025. Responses include buyers, sellers, and agents.}