It can be extremely frustrating when you can’t seem to sell your home, no matter how much work you’ve put into trying. However, if a home hasn’t sold, there’s almost always a reason why. And that reason is never that it looks immaculate, is priced perfectly, and in a wonderful location. Usually, it is some mistake that either the seller, realtor, or both are making. Here are some things you can do if your home just doesn’t seem to be moving on the real estate market.
1. It may be time to refresh your advertising
Most buyers are looking at properties well in advance of purchase. Some research for years. If your listing and promotional details remain unchanged for months on end, your potential buyers will notice. This is when you should up your advertising game.
A great way to refresh your advertising is adding new photos. Photos are the way that buyers decide on whether or not they’ll go see your home. When taking photos, give as many different angles as you can. Put the best photos first. Consider adding a youtube video showing a walk-through of the entire house. See: Can’t Sell Your Home? Rent It. Update the description of your property in the listing. Now is the time to team up with your agent and get creative. After your listings are updated and refreshed, when a buyer is shopping again, they may stop for a second at yours and give it a thought whereas last time they saw it, and just kept scrolling.
2. You probably should change your price
The most important factors in selling a property are location and price. If you’ve had your property listed for some time, the market will have shifted around it. Re-assess your list price based on your market comps. Put yourself in the shoes of your buyers and be honest about a reasonable cost. Work with your agent and lower that price as much as you need to. There’s no point standing firm with your price if it means your home is going to sit on the market for a year.
3. Remove the listing for a little while
If you keep your property on the market for a long time without a break, usually a few different thinks start to happen. The first, is that buyers will make a mental note to avoid it, fearing something is wrong because it’s been hanging around so long. Next, buyers will use it’s DOM (days on market) as a negotiating tool, because they know you’re probably desperate. Or, even worse, they’ll just ignore your property already because they’ve seen it so many times. The listing actually at this point becomes irritating to them when they see it. You’ve got about three good months to find a buyer, before your listing is completely stale, to where no one will even think about it.
4. Improve it aesthetically
Ask your friends and family what they think you could do to improve the aesthetics of the home, in case that is the cause. It could be the paint color, lack of decent curb appeal, or a tiny kitchen. The impression that too much renovation will be needed, or just that the place seemed too messy whenever it was being inspected. See: List Your Property for Free – Trulia. Don’t be afraid to try home staging. It can make all the difference. It might be that a more substantial renovation is needed, and if it will increase your odds of sale and a good price, it’s probably a better alternative than sitting on the market indefinitely.
5. Go comparison shopping
You may have done a ton of homework on selling your house, but check our your competitors. Read on: Why You Might Need Professional Photos to Sell Your Home – Realtor.com. Work with your realtor to find out how your house compares to the ones in your area. Figure out what your advantages and disadvantages are, and play on those. Selling a house can be pretty tough, but it doesn’t have to be if you know what to do.
Lisa
Great photos are a necessity. Without them, don’t bank on hitting the bank. Buyers will skip right over you, and that leads you INTO number 3 without a choice. Your home will have been on the market for too long, and will look unappealing as people want what they can’t have, and its obvious that no-one wants your house. If you have made this mistake, you need to take your home off the market for a little while until people forget about it (1-3 months), then re-list it.
Laura King
Hi Lisa,
Glad you enjoyed the article. Very true. Many homeowners aren’t aware of the DOM (Days on Market) rule of thumb. If your listing is over three months, it should be taken off for a few weeks, changes should be made, and then it should be re-listed. However, this only works if changes are made to the entire listing.