The real estate market's been tough lately, but even in a hot seller’s market, not every home sells. Some properties languish on the market – racking up 90, 120,
even 200 or more “days on
market.” More often than not, the issue is price: the house is simply over
priced for the current market conditions. While pricing
is the most common reason why homes don’t sell, it’s not
the only one. Sometimes, it can be
less expensive to address other things before changing the list price – and a
good Listing Agent’s goal is to net the Sellers the most money possible on
their property.
If a property isn’t getting offers, you need to
take a serious look at the situation and figure out what’s going on.
Potential culprits could be neighborhood conditions (close proximity of high voltage power lines, neighbors who don’t
keep up their yards, etc) or geologic or natural hazard issues (being on a major earthquake fault zone or flood plain). These problems can often only be addressed via price. Other issues could include interior problems such as clutter, cooking odors or
poor staging, structural issues, or showing difficulties (sellers
hanging around during showings, or an overly restrictive showing
schedule); bad feng shui, poor
marketing, or a myriad of other issues, some of which can be changed and some
of which cannot.
if you have a home on the market that's not selling, ask yourself these three questions:
- Are there showings? Do cars pull up and drive by rather than having its occupants get out to see the property? If they aren’t getting out of the car at all, we have a big problem! Could be time make some serious modifications and up the curb appeal.
- Are there only a few showings? If it’s fewer than 3-5 showings per week, we need to find out why and discover a way bring those buyers in.
- Are there plenty of showings but no offers? If that’s the case, pricing or condition is probably the reason. Perhaps only small tweaks are needed to get a market value offer!
If your home isn’t selling, it’s helpful to take in
the feedback (assuming some has been provided), take the time to understand
current market conditions so you don’t over price, and make sure that
the property has great marketing, access, and appeal. Find out
what’s scaring buyers off and if possible, correct that first. Sometimes it’s
hard to hear negative feedback about your landscaping, decor, or whatever it
may be, but working with a good real estate professional is like working with
other professionals on your team – they need to be able to tell you the truth,
even if it’s not fun to hear. Make sure you welcome the feedback, then
you’ll be able to take the necessary steps to correct the situation.
