It may be a realtor who is afraid of losing the listing who is pushing to get the house on the market.  It may be a seller who, now that they have decided to sell, wants it on the market yesterdayl    There could be seasonal issues, school beginning or school ending issues, relocating to another state for a new job time restraints.  It may be a divorce situation where the sellers are anxious to get on with their lives.

It doesn't really matter what the reason is, too many sellers are prematurely listing their houses. 

I've heard it over and over again...sellers don't have the time to make the suggested improvements.  They can't afford to wait two weeks to get it on the market.  "Listed" somehow means "sold" and getting the house on the market becomes the priority.

Unfortunately, and ironically for these sellers, the act of rushing onto the market is what ultimately keeps the house on longer than need be.  Today's buyers are not interested in making improvements.  They want move-in-ready.  Worn carpet or dated wallpaper not only represents work to buyers, it also suggests that the house wasn't properly maintained and other areas of the home become suspect. 

This seller was ready to list, believing that removing the worn, dated carpet was not necessary.  The Realtor and I convincing him to delay listing until the carpet could be removed and some accessories could be added made a huge difference on the quality of product being marketed.  Taking the extra time  resulted in increased perceived value. 

For those sellers that do list prematurely, once they realize their mistake, the house's "days on market" are accumulating.  Too many days on market leads to a price reduction.

A sellers best chance at getting closest to asking price is in the first two weeks, when the price and the interest in the house are at their highest.  You only get one shot at that just-listed popularity. Just-listed interest is so short lived...can you really afford not to be prepared?

Here is my advice to anyone considering selling their home.  Make the best use of your time.  Take the time necessary to properly prepare the house for sale.  Do not list until the house is completely ready to be shown. 

It's not time and money saved when you cut corners, it is actually time and money lost. 

Time spent on improvements increases your chance of selling and decreases  your chance of price reductions.