The Reasons That Homes Fail to Sell
I gotta talk to you. I was just out to lunch and I got asked a question for the second time today, so I figured you may be asking it, too.
The question was: Why didn’t my house sell? The market is good, so why didn’t it sell?
Well, they were right. The market is good right now. But that doesn’t mean your house will be automatically sold. There are actually only a few reasons that homes fail to sell, so let’s take a look at them.
Reason #1: Your house isn’t priced to sell.
You may have heard me talk about this before. A real estate agent will list your home at a price way over what it’s worth just to get you to sign a 6-month contract. Then they slowly reduce the price until you’ve missed your honeymoon period. This is called buying the listing and should be avoided at all costs. Also, some agents will show up with a comparative market analysis and price for your home already in mind. If they do this, just run! Or listen and check out, just like my house does when I’m listening.
Reason #2: You hired the wrong agent or brokerage.
This may be one of the biggest mistakes you could make when selling your home. Don’t just hire an agent because you see their signs all over town. What if all those signs don’t mean that they’re good at their job, but have a lot of houses listed that they can’t sell? I used to work exclusively with expired listings when I first started in this business and I saw a lot of things go wrong. If you hired a discount brokerage, or even brokerage who assigned a new agent to your case, it is common to see your home listed wrong on the MLS. I have seen homes listed completely in the wrong area. Make sure to interview multiple agents before you hire one or try to hire a broker directly because they have more education and higher stakes in the game.
Reason #3: You’re not marketing enough.
This isn’t always your fault. Sometimes, larger brokerages have a set pattern that they don’t stray from when it comes to marketing houses. They may not do Facebook ads, share it on social media at all, or keep your listing up to date on all websites where people are looking for houses. I’ve even seen some realtors not use Zillow just because they don’t like it, even though 9 out of 10 people say they use Zillow to look for homes. If you’re having trouble with your home’s marketing, you have to hold the agent’s feet to the floor and make sure they get it done.
Reason #4: You didn’t have professional pictures taken.
You’ve probably heard me say this before, but you NEED to have a professional photographer take pictures of your home. You just do. In today’s market, you can’t afford not to use a professional photographer. You know that if you heard the story about the expired listing of the house over in North Olmstead where the agent took pictures of a $200,000 home with her iPhone. You just can’t do it. Take my word for it.
Reason #5: Your home is not in good condition.
The market is moving right now, but it’s only certain price ranges and only house that are in the top level of that price range. If there are 10 houses on the market, you need your house to better than all 10 in order to sell it. That means beds have to be made, dishes have to be done, and everything should be neat and tidy. You don’t want to have a messy home when trying to sell your house, especially if a viewing is taking place. What potential buyers see can impact their final decisions more than you know.
So, price your house to sell, interview multiple agents, market your home, take professional photos, and make sure it is in good condition if you want your home to sell! Don’t make fundamental mistakes, which you can read more about in my book!
If you have any questions, let me know in the comments below or shoot me an email.
Good luck and have a great day!
