If you have had your home on the market for several months and haven’t seen much activity or any offers, chances are that one or more of the reasons below are to blame.
Your price is too high
No doubt about it, the most common reason for a home not selling is that the asking price has been set too high. The reasons for setting your price too high to begin with are many. Regardless of the reason though, if you’ve priced your home too high, you’ve set yourself up for a number of obstacles to selling your home. Even if you do get an offer for the overly high asking price, the deal may fall apart before closing because the buyer may have problems financing at too high a price when the appraisal report is sent back to their lender. Look at other homes for sale, ones as similar and as close to yours as possible. If they are going for less than you are asking, you may be priced too high. The fact is, your home is competing against those other homes, and what buyers are willing to pay is what will determine final sales price.
The condition of your home
Your home has to compete against other similar homes on the market, as well as competing against shiny brand new homes. The more you can do to make your home look appealing to a buyer, the better your chances for a quick sale. Look at your home with a critical eye – put yourself in the buyers position. A buyer doesn’t want to have to do anything except move in. Your best “bang for the buck” in improving the condition of your home are paint and flooring. Make sure that all of the paint is in great condition, both inside and out. Repainting doesn’t cost too much, and will usually make the biggest impact on buyers. Make sure all of the flooring looks good too. You may want to consider putting in new carpet. Again, it’s not that expensive but it does make a significant impact on buyers coming to look at your home.
Location, location, location
It’s the oldest cliché in the world, but it’s true. When it comes to real estate, it’s all about location! When it comes to homes, things like how good the schools are, crime rates, visual appeal of the neighborhood and noise or the smell of pollution can all affect how desirable the location is. If you’re in a bad location, we can help to minimize some of the impact by suggesting improvements to the house. But the only really reliable way to overcome a bad location is with a lower price.
The market is slow
You’ll hear it described as a slow market, or a buyer’s market, or maybe a cold market. But it all means the same thing: Home sales in the local area are slow. There are too many homes for sale and not enough active buyers. There are several things you can do to combat a slow market. The most effective strategy is to sell at a lower price. Buyers expect to find bargains during a slow market. You can also offer to pay some concessions to help a buyer that might not have a lot of cash.
Your home isn’t easily accessible
To get your home sold quickly, it’s important that other agents in the area show it to as many potential buyers as possible. When a busy agent is compiling a list of homes to show a buyer, the agent will naturally tend to show those houses that are easiest to gain access to first. If you have several days and times during the week, especially weekends, which you do not allow showings then the likelihood of agents wanting to show your home will not be very good. The easier it is for an agent to show your home the more likely it will be to have a lot of buyers come and take a look.