Consumer questions answered. Why hasn’t my house sold?

This is the consumer questions answered series. We have received over 23 emails from different people asking about this particular question. Let’s briefly describe the most common questions we have received.

1) Why hasn’t my home sold yet it’s been on the market for over 6 months or it’s been on the market for a year or more.

2) I have had people making appointments to come and view the home and when the agent does an open house people come through so why don’t I have more offers?

3) My agent wants me to lower the price, but I don’t want to. What would I need to do that for?

4) Is there anything I can do to help with the sale of my home that my agent isn’t doing?

Ok those have been consistently the most asked over and over.

Let’s start with question #1. Why hasn’t my home sold?

Answer:  The most common reasons that homes don’t sell are because of cosmetic issues, huge repairs needed, and pricing. What sellers HAVE to remember is that, this is a buyer’s market. What does that mean? It means that this is an over saturated market…..buyers have a lot to choose from so your home needs to be move in ready. Having a “take it or leave it” attitude does not sell homes. If you have cosmetic issues in your home such as an outdated kitchen or bathroom or very bright colors in your living room then you are sabotaging the sale of your own home. You are not marketing your home to yourself but rather to the buyers interested in the area where your home is. If your home is priced right and cosmetic issues have been resolved you will receive offers. If you aren’t receiving offers than one of those issues has not been resolved.

QUESTION 2:
The answer is what we discussed in our first answer. Especially if you have showings by other agents and people are coming through the open houses then the home is either priced too high or there are cosmetic issues the home owner has not resolved.

QUESTION 3:
This was just touched on in our first two answers. If your agent is telling you to lower the price it’s because you aren’t receiving enough offers in conjunction with how long your property has been on the market. Every agent knows that if the home is priced right and cosmetic issues are resolved then offers will be coming in on a property. Also the feedback you receive from agents and home owners will also tell you what the issues are that need to be resolved. Homeowner’s should be listening to feedback.

QUESTION 4:

What homeowner’s can do is keep their home in open house condition at all times. De-clutter your home and paint over very bright colors and remove wallpaper and trade them in for neutral colors.

Remember that your agent wants your home to sell as much as you do so work with them and not against them. They have experience and know the market and you can benefit from that knowledge. Home owner’s have a lot of competition right now. Good luck to everyone in the buying and selling of a home!