Why is my Home Not Selling?
The current buyer's market has left many people that are selling their home wondering what on earth
they need to do to get their home sold. With so many homes on the market today, there are a few keys
to getting your home sold at a reasonable price.
What many home sellers don't understand is that the longer their home is on the market, the less money they
will get for it when it finally does sell. "Days on the market" is a very important questions many buyer's
look at. If your home is on the market for let's say, 200 days, a buyer may start to wonder what it is
about your home that makes people not want to buy it.
The number one reason a home doesn't sell is price. That all-to-sensitive number that everyone is
looking at. It's the number that determines what home a buyer will buy and ultimately how much
money you will make when you sell. All Realtor's have the same access to the multiple listing service
in order to form what they call a CMA (Comparable Market Analysis). That is, seeing what is
comparable to your home in the area and seeing what has sold in the last 6 months. That is how a
a Realtor can help you make the right choice of what price to list your home at. With so many homes
on the market today, $5000 can truly make the difference if your home sells or not. Houses
are kind of like stock, hopefully they go up in value, BUT, sometimes they go down. Bottom line is that your
home is worth what today's market says it's worth, regardless of what it was worth three, five or ten years ago.
Listen to what Realtors that have shown your home have to say about it. If the showing Realtor comments
on improvements that need to be done, have them done as quickly and professionally as possible. (Promising you
will do it if they write an offer or telling them you will give them an allowance to get it done just gives that
buyer one more reason to just look elsewhere.) If the Realtor says the carpets are stained or the walls
are too many colors, paint or re-carpet. Would you really want to take the chance that the only reason that buyer
didn't buy your home was because you had a crazy obsession with the color purple and shag green carpet?
Many times the showing Realtor is really giving you helpful hints as to why your home is not selling.
Another reason your home doesn't sell is passing on showings. If someone want to see your home at 8pm
by all means, let them. Buyer's are few and far between but there are thousands of homes on the market.
If they can't see your home when they want to see it, chances are, they will pass and just look at other
homes that are available when they are. Ease of showing is also a valid point. Does your home show well?
You must think like a buyer. Your home must be clutter free and clean. A buyer should be able to move
into your house without doing a thing. (This includes, cleaning the carpets, patching walls!)
Bottom line, NEVER pass on a showing.
Lastly, when in doubt, lower the price. That almost guarantees at least a couple of showings. Also, talk
to your Realtor about how much you should lower the price. Dropping it $1000 really isn't that big of a jump.
Here, I'll give you an example: Let's say a buyer is buying up to $125,000. Your home is listed at $127,000.
You then decide to drop your price to $126,000. You would be better off to drop it to $124,900. That will
capture the buyers that are buying up to $125,000. It's always best to drop it to the nearest 5, or 10
thousand dollar mark. Well, I hope this blog helps you sell your home. Good Luck!