Real Estate Investing:Reasons Why A Home Might Not Be Selling

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For many people, one of the most difficult and frustrating experiences in life is trying to sell a home. For some, selling a home might be a necessity as a result of a job transfer. For others, it may be as simple as wishing for a change of scene.

However, in many cases, the seller has already moved out and into a new home and needs to sell the home as quickly as possible so as not to have the financial burden of two mortgages. In this case, it can become increasingly frustrating when, after months of being on the market, the house still hasn’t sold or even had a showing.

In cases like these, there are a few reasons that may explain why a home isn’t selling. One of the biggest reasons may be your asking price. Even though you may have an ideal of what your home should sell at, the fact of the matter is that the buyer will set the price of the home. Though you may have a set listing price, you need to realize that if buyers aren’t even considering your home, you may need to lower your price. If you’re asking for an inflated price, chances are that within a month of your listing, potential buyers have already ruled you out.

Also, if your property doesn’t appraise at your asking price, a buyer may be unable to get financing for the home. Another aspect to consider is that if you’ve listed yourself above the home’s worth, you are competing against homes in that price range that are worth more. It follows that you may not compete well against nicer homes.

The longer your home stays on the market, the less likely it will be to sell. Of course you don’t want to lose money on the deal, but you just might if you overprice. This is the worst mistake a seller can make.

Another reason that your home might be selling is that it needs updates and repairs. Some homeowners move out of homes that need updates because they have no desire to have to do the updates themselves. This may end up costing the homeowner more in the long run. Learn to separate yourself from your home. You may have lived there for several years and as a result have developed an attachment. If you want to sell your home, you need to start thinking of it as a product to market and sell.

The best way to do this is to get the product into marketable condition. Fortunately, most of the updates you’ll need to make are surface or cosmetic updates. If the paint on the exterior of the house is faded, chipped, and peeling, repaint it. Consider getting a new front door if yours is dated. Make sure the lawns are trimmed and mowed and free of leaves. The flowerbeds and sidewalk cracks should be free of weeds. Small details like this make a huge difference. If your carpet is old and dated, put new carpet in. Fill in cracks and holes in the wall and repaint them neutral colors, like earth tones and tans, not white.

If you have leaky faucets, replace them. Fix squeaking cabinet doors. If your home needs major updates like central heating and cooling and you don’t want to deal with it, realize that this may become a factor in the negotiation of your selling price.

Once you start showing the home you will also need to do something called “staging” the house. This means making sure that all small details are taken care of. If you have personal photos and heirlooms on display, get rid of them. People want to imagine the home as their own and not be constantly reminded that you live there. Get rid of all books and put bookshelves and excess furniture into storage. Leave only the furniture that shows off the home’s space and makes best use of it.

Take down old window treatments and consider spending the money on fresh and simple treatments that make the best use of the lighting in your home. This may seem simple, but another factor is smell. If you’re home has an unpleasant odor, it can be a huge deterrent to potential buyers. Some sellers light scented candles or some go so far as to bake bread or cookies a few hours before the showing so that the home will smell like baked goods. Whatever you can do to make your home more desirable, do it.

Another reason your home might not be selling is that you hired the wrong listing agent. The best way to find a good agent is through referrals from friends and family. It is easier to find a trustworthy and experienced real estate agent by going through people who have already been through the process. If your agent isn’t being proactive about marketing your home, it may be affecting the sale. A big factor in this is marketing strategies.

Make sure your agent has an extensive market plan and that they have quality photos of your home. As simple as it might be, poor quality photographs can be the difference between selling and not selling your home. The more good quality photos, the better. Lighting is key. If the photographs make your home look dark and dreary, people won’t want to see the home. Utilize the natural light of your home to make the interior look bright and cheery. Make sure you have plenty of photographs of the kitchen. Since one of the biggest selling areas of the home is the kitchen, this is generally the most important photo.

Homeowners having trouble selling a home will want to go through this list and carefully address each issue. Even one of these factors may be the reason no one is buying, or it could be a combination of all of them. When your home finally sells, the time you took to make the home as marketable as possible will be time well spent.