A home that is new on the market in a buyer’s price range will at the minimum earn an initial glance. That is your opportunity to impress buyers with a great presentation. When a home languishes on the market for months or even years the first question is, “Why?” Time on the market is a basic real estate statistic.
When this value is excessive for a given home, many buyers believe something must be wrong. Some of these homes never sell. It’s essential that you use the most effective techniques to sell your home so that it does not languish on the market. Here are 4 top reasons why homes DO NOT SELL. Take heed and avoid these pitfalls.
Over Pricing
The number one reason why a home fails to sell is overpricing. Often owners have emotional attachments to their homes that color their pricing requirements. When this is coupled with listing agents seeking to please their clients, an unrealistic price can be created. It’s the market that determines the selling price and not how much you invested in your home. If your price is out of a potential buyer’s range, potential buyers are unlikely to schedule a visit to your property. If you can price your home just a little lower, you may be surprised at how well this attracts potential buyers.
Online Agent Image
Online agent image is an important factor in sales. The Wall St. Journal reports that people do judge books by their covers. Business cards and listing sheets often sport a photo of your real estate agent. When that photo is less than engaging, your possibility of a sale may suffer.
A study conducted in 2012 by Columbus University had 400 participating real estate agents. Their attractiveness was rated on a scale of 1-10. On average attractive agents rated 5.2 while average looking agents rated 3.3.
Results from a seven-year study showed that every one-point increase in a listing agent’s attractiveness score added about $8,500 to the home’s sale price. A takeaway from this is that when you choose an agent, make sure that their online presence is one that will be appealing to potential buyers.
The condition of your home
When getting ready to place your home on the market, look at it objectively from a buyer’s perspective. If there are major, visible repairs that need to be done, you can bet that buyers will notice them.
As they view the property, they will be accumulating the remediation costs, and if that number gets too high, initial interest could quickly fade.
Some sellers have had professional decorator’s design their interiors. If your interior looks dated, you may want to do a quick makeover. The same thing goes for your landscaping.
There are many touch ups you can do to enhance your home’s exterior setting. Both inside and out make certain to minimize your clutter and ensure that your online photo presentation shows your home at its best.
Accessibility
When your home is not easily accessible to agents and buyers, it’s extremely difficult to sell. You can help by allowing your Realtor to place a lock box on your home. There are lots of homes on the market, and some agents prefer showing those that are quickly accessible. They are very busy with appointments and may weary of trying to reach selling agents who are slow to return calls.