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| Your House Didn't Sell - Now What? |
"... The first thing to do is take a step back and analyze the
situation..."
You put your home up for sale and it simply didn't sell.
Undoubtedly, this has created a lot of stress, inconvenience and
anxiety for you and your family. Perhaps you already bought another
home. Maybe you needed this home sold because of a job change.
Regardless of the reason, it's certainly a burden! What Should You
Do?
The first thing to do is to take a step back and analyze the
situation. Try to assess what factors led to your home not selling.
Below are the top four reasons why homes tend to languish on the
market: |
| Is The Property Overpriced? |
Overpricing your property is usually the number one reason it
did not sell. Assuming your neighborhood or area has homes with
similar features (number of bedrooms and baths, lot size, etc.) on
the market for a lower price, buyers will naturally buy those
properties first. The price of your property should be competitively
priced with these other homes. That means if you want to sell your
home, price the home at or slightly below the comparables. Your real
estate agent will help you establish the best price based on the
competition. Again, pricing your property above comparable
properties can easily cause it to languish.
Another problem with pricing higher than competitive properties is
the price reductions. Most homeowners will reduce the price once
they realize their home is priced higher than the competition. When
your real estate agent enters the price reduction in the MLS®
System, the property is probably at or near where it should have
been priced in the first place. The problem now is you missed a lot
of the buyers the first round that bought comparable homes for the
same price you have just reduced your home to.
To overcome this situation, you are going to have to make sure your
new, reduced price is extremely competitive. If your price reduction
still leaves the asking price of your home higher than any
comparables, your home will probably continue to languish. Your real
estate agent will help you assess the competition and help you
establish an asking price that will get the home sold. |
| Condition Of The Property |
All of the cosmetic things, such as paint, landscaping, window
coverings and flooring should be in good shape. The house should be
spotlessly clean inside and out! It's amazing how most buyers refuse
to see "through" superficial, cosmetic shortcomings. To illustrate
this point, most buyers can walk into a "perfect" home that is
priced below market. However, if the house is cluttered, the carpet
is worn, or the house has a strong pet odor, they move on to look at
the next house. And making these cosmetic improvements costs little...
mostly your time! To get the house sold, make a small investment in:
Landscaping: Make sure lawn is in good shape and trees and shrubs
neat and trimmed. Make sure gutters are clear. If you don't have the
time to do it, pay someone.
Exterior of home: Make sure there is no chipping paint, dirty
windows, or clutter in the yard. Most importantly, remember that
most buyers will notice the condition of the front door when they
walk in.
Interior: Make sure the carpets are clean and attractive, the walls
painted (if it needs it) and clean (no smudges!), the kitchen
clutter-free and the windows are spotless. Also, remove excess
furniture (rule of thumb is put half the furniture in storage or the
basement). Excess furniture makes rooms appear much smaller. Make
sure all clothes are off the floor and organized in closets. And
finally, make sure the smell of the home is appealing. Vanilla scent
works very well with most buyers. |
| Was Your Property Aggressively
Marketed? |
Another primary reason for homes languishing on the market is a
simple lack of exposure. In a very hot market, a listing in the
Multiple Listing Service alone should generate an adequate number of
buyers. However, if your market is anything less than red-hot, the
amount of inventory will increase and your home needs aggressive
marketing.
Most buyers work with real estate agents. A good real estate agent
will make sure your property is exposed to the active real estate
agents in your areas by presenting your property to many of the area
offices. Also, most active real estate agents have a strong network
of other agents, and they're usually on the phone pushing the
property to the other agent's buyers.
Make sure your property is advertised in home magazines. Many buyers
pull these off the racks of grocery, convenience and drug stores
when they are actively looking to buy a home. Most importantly, make
sure your property is advertised in heavily trafficked web sites
like MLS.ca. Well over 80% of buyers use the Internet to look for
homes! |
| Finally, and Most Importantly, Did You
Hire The "Right" Real Estate Agent? |
Like any profession, there are very effective and ineffective
agents. Many agents work hard and employ strong marketing
techniques. Many agents have a strong network and access to buyers.
Many agents work hard to get your home sold. However, many do not.
Did your agent simply place the house in the Multiple Listing
Service? Or, did she or he inform their network of buyers about your
property? How about presenting your property at sales meetings both
at her or his office and other company offices? Did she or he
promote your property at the local real estate board meeting, where
many agents gather to share inventory? Did she or he use aggressive
advertising, including real estate magazines and heavily trafficked
Internet web sites?
Ask yourself, was your agent passionate about selling your property?
If not, now is the time to find the agent who will get your home
sold. |
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