12 Reasons Why Your Home Isn’t Selling

When you first put your house on the market, you might be hopeful for a quick sale—especially if you’ve put a lot of money into improving the house over the years and if the neighborhood is one that has historically attracted a lot of attention from buyers, or is in an up and coming area. While you shouldn’t panic if the house doesn’t sell the moment you list it, you should begin to worry if the months start passing by without any real offers. If this is the case, here are 12 reasons why your house may not be selling.

1. You overpriced your home. If your house is overpriced, it simply is not going to sell. Compare your property to similar properties that recently sold within your area to get a better idea of its true value. An experienced real estate agent can give you an accurate value of your home, auto valuation sites like Zillow cannot and they make a point to acknowledge this on their websites. Additionally, don’t make the mistake of tacking on the cost of any renovations you made. You can’t just assume that the cost of a renovation translates to added value, especially not on a dollar for dollar basis. On average homes that are priced at market value will be viewed by approximately 60% of the buyers presently in the market looking for such a home, if the home is priced just 5% above market value this number drops by half to 30%, if the home is priced 10% above market value the home you’re down to just 2% of the eligible buyers… it is critically important that your home be priced appropriately!
2. Not making the home accessible for showings. When listing your home it needs to be available to show. While you and your agent may have discussed your lifestyle and the fact that having two adults that work with kids and a pet make it difficult to keep the home show ready… you need to understand that short notice requests for showings will come up and in most instances if you turn down the showing request the buyer will simply move on to the next property and in most instance not attempt to reschedule. While you won’t be able to accommodate every single showing and requesting a 1-2 hour prior notice for showings is reasonable, you should attempt to accommodate showing requests as best you can. There is an inverse relationship between the amount of time a home spends on the market and the price at which it sells. Every buyer that views the property represents an opportunity to sell your home and a home that can’t be shown, will be a difficult one to sell.
3. Your listing is poor. If the listing of your home includes a poorly written description with poor quality or a limited number of images, most buyers will simply skip past it. Today over 96% of buyers are looking online and photos represent the key enticing element of buyer’s initial home search. Make sure you and your REALTOR® put forth the effort to creating a listing that attracts the attention of today’s buyers. Make sure to add high quality photographs of both the interior and exterior of your home as well as photos of the local community and it’s amenities. Buyers aren’t simply buying a home, they are buying a lifestyle and by presenting the lifestyle your home will afford them you allow your listing to stand out from over 90% of your competition as few sellers and agents consider this or make the effort. So be sure to highlight all of your home’s, as well as your community’s best features.
4. You’re always present at showings. Let your agent handle your showings. Buyers do not want to have the seller lurking over their shoulder (or even present in the home) during showings, especially during an open house. This puts unwanted pressure on the buyer, which will make them uncomfortable and likely chase them away. It also discourages them from providing honest and unfiltered feedback, information which is critical when selling a home.
5. You’re too attached. If you refuse to negotiate even a penny off your price, then there’s a good chance that you’re to attached to your home. If a part of you doesn’t want to sell it, or you think your house is the very best the market has to offer, odds are you’re going to have a lot of difficulties coming to an agreement with a potential buyer. While you’re home may be perfect to and for you, no home is perfect and we each have our own unique needs and tastes when it comes to our homes and lifestyles. Furthermore, it is the market that dictates value and if the offers on your home are coming in below you asking price and buyer after buyer has refused to meet your number… this is the market telling you that you’ve overpriced your home. While you can attempt to argue with the market, this is typically a losing proposition.
6. You haven’t had your home professionally cleaned. A dirty house is going to leave a bad impression on buyers. Make sure you have your carpeting and windows professionally cleaned before you begin showing your house. If the carpets are worn and in need of replacing this, as well as painting offer some of the highest rates of return for sellers. If your hardwood floors are showing signs of wear this is something else to address. Talk to your REALTOR® about what areas to focus on and those which will offer the highest return on investment.
7. You haven’t staged your home. If you’ve already moved out, then don’t show an empty house. This makes it difficult for buyers to imagine living in it as well as the lifestyle the home will provide. Stage your house with furniture and décor to give buyers a better idea of how big every room is and how it can be used. You want the buyer to feel at home when they are taking the tour.
8. You kept up all of your personal décor. Take down your personal décor so that buyers can have an easier time imagining themselves living there. Personal photos represent an unwanted distraction for buyers. You want buyers focusing on your home, not the people that presently live in it.
9. Your home improvements are too personalized. You might think that the comic book mural you painted for your child’s room is absolutely incredible, the yoga and sauna space you added to the basement or outdoor kitchen with massive grill and top of the line everything is likely to be just what potential buyers want (after all that’s what HGTV said), but this doesn’t mean potential buyers will agree. If your home improvements are too personalized, it can scare off buyers who don’t want to pay for features they don’t want.
10. Your home is too cluttered. Even if your home is clean, clutter can still be an issue. For example, maybe you simply have too much furniture in one of your rooms. This can adversely impact the flow of your space and make the house feel smaller than it is.
11. Your home is in need of too many repairs. The more repairs that are needed, the less likely a buyer will want your house. Many buyers simply don’t want to deal with the cost or effort of doing repair work, even if it’s just a bunch of small repairs, such as tightening a handrail or replacing a broken tile. They also tend to worry that is a home has a lot of clearly observable and deferred maintenance type of items, that there are likely to be even more less visible items that the seller has failed to attend to. It also gives buyer’s and their agents the impression that the seller is in such a hurry to sell the property they weren’t even willing to take the time to properly prepare the home for market.
12. You chose the wrong real agent. In my humble yet someone biased opinion, choosing the right real estate is simply THE MOST IMPORTANT DECISION YOU MAKE IN SELLING YOUR HOME as it subsequently impacts almost every other decision as well as the representation you and your home receive. A good REALTOR® makes all the difference in selling your home within a reasonable time, with limited inconvenience and ensuring your home fetches top dollar. While all 11 of the prior items can be adjusted for once you realize your mistake; however, the longer your property stays on the market, the less likely it will sell at listing price. The best strategy is to avoid these mistakes in the first place to and work with a top producing real estate agent.

The Opland Group Specializes in Real Estate Sales, Luxury Home Sales, Short Sales in; Bexley 43209 Columbus 43201 43206 43214 43215 Delaware 43015 Dublin 43016 43017 Gahanna 43219 43230 Grandview Heights 43212 Hilliard 43026 Lewis Center 43035 Marysville 43040 43041 New Albany 43054 Pickerington 43147 Powell 43065 Upper Arlington 43220 43221 Westerville 43081 43082 Worthington 43235

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