Why isn't my home selling?
If your home is up for sale and isn't selling, here are some questions to ask yourself:
1) Is your home priced right?
If there are comparables to your home, this should be an easy question to answer. You should also be getting weekly reports from your agent with latest market activity. This will tell you if homes that you are competing with are going Pending plus the price homes are being sold for. If other homes you're competing with are going Pending, you need to ask why theirs and not yours! During the housing boom if you overpriced your home, appreciation would eventually catch up to the price you had it listed at. This is not the case in today's market. If you price it 5-10% above what the comparable value says thinking that maybe you can get the price, you are probably going to be one of the homes that sits on the market with the Days on Market (DOM) increasing. You're going to get the most attention from Buyers and Buyer Agents when you first list your home. You don't want the initial impression of your home to be "another overpriced home".
2) How well is your home being presented?
Look for a home like a Buyer would. Search the Internet search engines and see how easy it is to find your home. Do the photos make you want to see your home? For example, is your main photo a "Wow" photo? Do the interior photos make the rooms look small? Sometimes a few photos is better than a lot of photos. EVERY ONE of your home photos should send a postive message. If not, it should be removed or reshot. Dark photos, photos without Blue skies, photos with cars parked in front of the home, etc. are examples. Also, be careful of the 360 degree panoramic "virtual tours". Most of these don't show a home that well and may cause a Buyer to cross your home off their list. Here is an example of a property website with a floorplan & photos that help sell a home- http://www.7233GlenView.com
If your Realtor's marketing plan focuses on print advertising, chances are after a month or two on the market, you aren't seeing your home advertised as much because of the cost. But, since Buyers are really looking at the Internet, you need your home to show up when Buyers search for real estate in your city.
3) Is your flyer box empty?
This is one of the biggest mistakes Realtors make. An empty flyer box could be sending the message that your home is Pending Sale and off the market. If you are occupying the home, ask your Realtor for a stack of brochures so you can refill the box so you don't miss a potential Buyer. Some Realtors may say "I purposely leave the flyer box empty so I get phone calls" but I think it's more like "I don't want to pay for any more brochures".
4) Are you getting showing feedback?
When a potential Buyer looks at your home, their feedback is valuable. If you start hearing the same comments, then you know something that needs to be fixed. If you have a lockbox on your home, your Realtor should be downloading the lockbox entry log to make sure you know everyone that has viewed your home as some Realtors don't leave their business card behind. Your Realtor should follow up with the Realtors that show your home. This is sometimes a challenge as a lot of Realtors won't return the phone call that's asking for feedback but there are other ways of getting it. I use a system where I've been getting 80%+ response rates from Realtors.
posted by Mark Thomason @ 6:52 PM
