Don’t despair if you decide to sell in this market. Thankfully, selling your home isn’t rocket science, but it can require some preparation and intelligent marketing decisions. Many agents will tell you that at the end of the day, it comes down to price. While price may be one major factor and you will notice that it is number one on this list, it’s not always ‘just’ about price. In my real estate experience, there are six primary reasons a home doesn’t sell and some options for correcting these problems.
1.The Home is Overpriced.
I’ve seldom met an owner who doesn’t think his/her home is “better.” I’ve been told many times about specific features that “should” make the home be worth more money than comparable homes. No matter how much you may appreciate your home and its particular special features, the buyers ultimately set the price by what they are willing to pay for the property. Overpricing, either by you or by an agent willing to suggest a higher price in order to obtain the listing, begins a chain of events that often works against you. Real estate agents and qualified buyers currently in the market will see your listing within the first two to three weeks, and if it’s overpriced, they will note that and move on to other properties. After those important first few weeks on the market, the only buyers who will see your property are those that are new to the market, and your property will be labeled as “overpriced.” Buyers and their agents always look for “days on market” when searching the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) listings. Day-old bread, leftovers, and overstocks are always discounted. The longer your home is on the market, the lower the price you will eventually be offered. Every property will sell, if it is priced properly.
2. The Home Shows Poorly.
Face it, your home has to compete with all the shiny and spacious new model homes going up in every corner of the city. Just like cars have the new car smell that most people love, new homes have the new-home smell, warranties, and move-in ready condition that most buyers love. You are competing with professional decorators/home stagers and landscapers who are experts at creating emotional appeal. I have worked with several builders in new construction and we know how to appeal to the buyer to persuade them to purchase a newly built home versus an existing--or what we call re-sale home. In many cases with new construction, we are selling a vacant lot and floorplan from the model home because builders do not like having a lot of standing inventory or ‘spec’ homes. These model homes are ‘showrooms’ and don’t have real families living in them while on the market, so they don’t have to worry about keeping it neat and clean like the typical homeowner. Thankfully, this is one of the easiest things to fix. A good cleaning, de-cluttering and cosmetic facelift is pretty inexpensive compared to the return in a higher sales price and faster sales time. Sparkling windows, kitchens and bathrooms, professionally cleaned carpets and fresh paint make a world of difference. Curb appeal from an attractively-maintained yard and an inviting front door doesn’t require a professional or large amounts of money. I always tell my Sellers, “when your home is on the market, make sure it is in showing condition at ALL times.” This means prior to leaving the house in the morning, put out fresh towels, remove any toiletry items from the bathroom counters and make sure all the beds are made up. I attended an open house a week ago with one of my buyer clients and was surprised to see that the agent was holding an open house (to the public) and in two of the three bedrooms, the beds were unmade and clothes were on the floor. Obviously, it didn’t seem to be an issue with the agent because if it had, she should have made sure the sellers had the home prepared for the open house or she could have at least made up the beds herself prior to the open house just so the home showed well. Nevertheless, I realize it is not easy to keep your home neat and clean all the time, especially when you have kids, but if you expect to sell, it is a must! I have moved and sold my personal homes on three separate occasions, so I know what’s involved and it is definitely hard work and often times stressful. It may mean getting up 30 minutes earlier in the morning to make sure your house looks presentable in case there is a spur-of-the-moment showing that day.
3. You are in a Bad Location or Undesirable Area.
This is one thing that can’t be changed. A good real estate agent will be able to maximize the positive aspects of your property while trying to minimize the negatives. It may be possible to screen an adjacent property with landscaping either to lessen the visual impact or the sound impact of a busy street. I once listed a lovely 5-bedroom home that was located on a very steep hill but in a nice neighborhood. The home was beautiful, but when shown, all the buyers could think about was the step driveway and their kids playing ball in the front yard and the ball rolling down the driveway in the road with their kids running after to retrieve it (i.e.,safety issue). The home finally sold, but only after several price reductions to compensate for the location. If your home is located in a less desirable school district or close to perceived nuisances (e.g. neighbor with barking dogs or neighbors who don’t maintain their yards), the best way to compensate is usually to reduce the sales price or offer buyer incentives such as seller financing, paying the buyer’s closing costs, or even offering a lease/purchase agreement.
4. The Marketing is Incomplete or Ineffective.
Not all real estate agents are alike and unfortunately, some do a minimal job in marketing the property once they’ve obtained the listing. I often research properties in the MLS and also in other cities and states when I’m out of town. I’m frequently surprised by the number of incomplete property descriptions, little to no photos, or less attractive photos, and many times, just incorrect or incomplete information reported in the listing. In most situations, once a listing is entered into a Multiple Listing Service, it will appear on many sites on the internet, as well as the broker’s own sites and national real estate sites they may participate in. Those properties with limited information, or worse, just a few photos or unflattering photos are eliminated by buyers and their agents without the buyer ever setting foot on the property. There are three groups of people your property must appeal to: 1) agents, 2) local buyers and 3) out-of-town buyers. All three are influenced by the computerized representation of your property. Face it, if your property’s online and printed marketing isn’t appealing, you will have no physical showings. While a very small percentage of homes are bought “sight unseen,” and I’ve sold several homes sight unseen to relocating buyers who prefer to just unpack and move into their home when they arrive here, however, they rely on my research and recommendation of the property. I will not sell a property to an out-of-town buyer unless I’ve personally previewed the home myself and taken my own photos to send to the buyer. The general rule is, if the buyer or the buyer’s agent doesn’t step inside your home, they won’t be buying it.
5. The Seller Has Changed Brokers Too Frequently in a Short Period of Time.
I’m sure most of you have seen homes that were on the market by one company or agent, and the next thing you know, there is another agent’s sign in the yard who’s with a different company, and the home has been on the market for a short period of time. There are many Sellers who get frustrated and upset when they don’t see any 'immediate' activity on their home and instead of being patient, they blame and sometimes fire the agent and hire another one. When the same thing happens again, they fire that agent and hire another one. Most Sellers don’t realize that this is actually doing them more harm than good because potential buyers are also taking notice and they usually make assumptions about everything, and those assumptions are not always positive in most cases. When they see that the home has changed Realtors so frequently, they assume that the Seller is very unreasonable and is difficult to deal with. Even if those buyers were interested in your home, they will be reluctant to make an offer because they may feel that if the Seller is so quick to change Realtors--or even if the Agent thought the Seller was so unreasonable that they no longer wanted the listing and terminated early (which I have done on a few occasions), the buyer will assume that the Seller is stubborn and difficult to deal with and is not willing to negotiate or bulge on the price or make any necessary repairs if required from a home inspection. So the Buyer(s) eliminates that home from their list. I know there will be times when you do need to part ways with a sub-standard agent if you don’t feel that the agent is working diligently to sell your home but it is best to think hard before you make that decision to terminate the agreement. In some cases, you could be faced with legal ramifications from the Broker depending on the terms of your contract, but from a selling and strategic standpoint, you should really think about how that will be perceived by a potential buyer. Besides, many Sellers are unaware that the listing history of their home is easily available and accessible in the Multiple Listing System (MLS).
6. The Market is the Market.
It’s all based on supply and demand. All real estate markets are cyclical, sometimes hot, sometimes cold, and sometimes just in balance. They are affected by any number of things that you have NO control over, such as interest rates, the economy, weather, national or local disasters, consumer confidence, and sometimes the time of year, such as the winter holidays. If there are many buyers for a type of property and there is a limited supply, the market will be faster and sellers won’t need to pay as much attention to condition, marketing and proper pricing. If there is a large supply of inventory, with little buyer interest or fewer qualified buyers who can actually acquire financing, homes will languish on the market and buyers will choose the best of the available inventory and those which offer the BEST value for their money. Unfortunately, this is the market that many areas are experiencing today. This is the time that paying attention to the items mentioned above makes a real difference in terms of how long it will take to sell your property and ultimately the price you’ll receive.
For more real estate advice, please feel free to email me at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
