Why Is my Not Home Selling?

Real Estate is a funny thing, you can have two homes on the same street, or even side-by-side and one house sells instantly and the other sits and sits. What gives? They are similar homes so why is this other property sitting so long?
 
Your usual factors that deter from a sale are usually the market conditions, average market time, condition of the property and its location. But if you’re in a Sellers Market where inventory is low, in high demand and you’re still not selling then it’s time to step back and take a look at other outlying factors that could be affecting your sale and the necessary changes that you need to make.
 
Are you making it easy for potential Buyers to come and view your home? In my many years in real estate I have seen many Sellers have so many restrictions on times to show their home that it’s virtually impossible to get clients in on their specific windows. I’ve called brokerages before and I’m told that viewings are from 11am-2pm M-F and 12-4 on Saturday and Sundays. What a crazy small window to showcase your home! 
 
Are you at home during the times the house is being shown? Many Buyers feel rushed and uncomfortable when the owner is home (or following you around – happens more than you think!) Do you have lots of pets? Many people don’t like cats or dogs and some animals make people want to leave faster as well affecting the overall viewing experience.
 
Pricing is also one of the most important aspects before you go on the market. If you’ve interviewed a few agents and one is much higher than the others they’re simply trying to “buy your listing” by winning you over with dreams of netting a ridiculous price and trust me, they will be coming to you eventually with an Amendment to change the listing price after a few weeks on market. Overpricing will drastically hurt your chances of a quick sale and you have to remember that homebuyers nowadays are pretty savvy on what each kind of home sells for. Remember especially in this market, in the event that you maybe sell your home for a higher number, you still have the hurdle of getting past an appraisal and if that doesn’t come in for you, it’s most likely your buyer will not be able to obtain financing unless they can come up with the difference on the appraisal and purchase price.

 Did you take a proper amount of time to get your home prepared and properly ready to show? Taking that one extra week to maybe fix all the little things can go a long way. Remember you’ll never get another chance to make that first impression and most Buyers will have already made up their minds the minute they get in the front door. When I see quick patch jobs or floors laid over tiles it shows to me that you have cut corners and I’m leery to make an offer. Often I’d become concerned where else you have tried to save money, with crappy patch jobs.
 
These two can kind of pair together but not taking great HI-Definition quality photos can be detrimental to your listing. Most Buyers look extensively online before venturing out to see your home, so making it look its absolute best is also important. If you hire an agent that is taking photos of your home with their phone, you should already know that you have made a terrible decision on your representation.  Which leads me into a great segue in selecting a right representative is one of your most important decisions in this entire process. You get what you pay for though so if you go with a discount brokerage you can expect less guidance, virtually no help and you’ll be working two jobs to get your home sold. One job is to show the property and the other one is to pay your bills. Getting the agent that you see on billboards and benches everywhere or one that works for a well-known brokerage isn’t always the best option. Get an agent you feel comfortable with and one with proven results. Ultimately it this individual that will get the job done.
 
Lastly staging your home is something that I’d highly recommend. Again not all situations warrant a property to be staged, some people keep their homes impeccable at all times (my parents for one!) But if you have to declutter, minimize and eventually move in the coming months, it makes the most sense to maybe stage at least some of the more important rooms in the house. Staging can net you roughly 6%-15% more on your home sale. Let’s say your home is selling for $800K; so imagine for $4000 - $8000 invested you can stand to make a minimum of $48K more on your home and a maximum of $120K. Seems like a win-win to me and let’s also keep in mind you’ll sell quicker as well so the headache of having showings will last must less as well. Staging highlights your homes best features and it downplays the worst features. You want it to be a clean and open space so buyers can visualize themselves living there.

So there you have it, I hope this helps make you take a step back a reassess your situation. A little more effort ahead of time will net you more money, minimize the time on market and ultimately give you less of a headache, especially if you have the right person working for you and making your home into the absolute best product on the market at that given time.
 
Thinking of capitalizing on a pretty good market right now? Give me a call and lets have a coffee. I may be able to shine a good light on your current situation and come up with a plan to execute to get you top dollar. I’m here to help! Thanks for reading.