The title of this post sounds so very simple.  Yet this is a concept that seems to elude some sellers.

Nearly two years ago, my office scheduled a visit with a qualified buyer and his family who came to our area to look at property.  The buyers were looking at upper-bracket homes and they had definite ideas about what they were looking for.

I called the listing agent of one home they wanted to see.  The agent rather sheepishly informed me that the seller hadn't given him a key yet and he couldn't provide access to the home's interior until the seller arrived the following week.  I informed him that my buyers were here for a weekend and they wanted to view the home as soon as possible.  The listing agent tried in vain, but he couldn't reach his client. 

I told my buyers they would have to wait perhaps five or six days and maybe make another 300 mile trip back to Madeline Island to see the property.  They were, to put it mildly, displeased.  They walked away from that first home and bought another one just a few miles away, priced at over $750,000.

That day, the seller of the first home missed out on a huge opportunity.  The seller waited nearly two years for a serious buyer to come along again.  And that seller's home recently received an offer considerably lower than if the home had been made available for showing in the first place.

This wasn't the only time I've encountered such a situation.  The story bears repeating.  Make your property available for showing or don't bother to put it on the market.  Buyers (and agents) find it irritating and frustrating when they cannot view a listing that is supposed to be available for purchase.