These 3 Things Could Be Keeping Your Home from Selling

Written by Posted On Thursday, 14 November 2019 02:33
These 3 Things Could Be Keeping Your Home from Selling Pexels.com

When you have a home that’s not selling, you start to wonder what’s wrong. It’s hard to believe that your neighbor down the street had their home under contract in less than a week when yours has been on the market for 100 days.

The National Association of Realtors suggests that the average house is on the market for 58 days before it sells. Anything less than that is considered a quick sale and anything more than that usually means it’s time to make some changes.

If your home has been on the market for more than two months, you have options. You can switch realtors, update the photos, lower the price, or make it a rental. But you might be able to sell your home faster by taking a closer look at what’s preventing the sale and making some changes.

Here are three common things that prevent homes from selling.

1. The Price

In the majority of slow-moving sales, blame lies with the asking price. You might value your home much higher than the market does, and buyers won’t pay for it. Many lenders won’t back a home purchase that’s overpriced.

“Listen carefully to what the market will bear,” suggests Bill Gassett of Max Real Estate Exposure. “Look at the comparable real estate sales data through the eyes of a buyer not as an emotional seller.”

Gassett also says that it doesn’t matter what you paid for the home. You have to price it according to the current market conditions if you want it to sell.

2. The Market

The market dictates a lot when it comes to your home sale. It has to do with the economy and the supply and demand of the area. According to Laura Mueller of Moving.com, these two factors play a huge role in whether your home sells, and you need to time a sale carefully and price it right.

Early spring is always the best time for selling a home. About mid-April, the market starts to flood and goes into summer. Sales later slow significantly, and if your home is still for sale, you’ll have a hard time selling this year.

The economy will make a major impact on your sale as well. There are two types of markets in real estate: a buyer’s market and a seller’s market. In a buyer’s market, inventory is high and homes are priced lower with more leverage in the hands of buyers. In a seller’s market, inventory is low and the seller can ask for a higher price with more negotiating power.

“The best way to avoid a stagnant sale process due to bad timing is to be strategic with when you list,” Mueller writes. “It’s better to wait and get on the market when your chances for a faster sale are high than to go on the market too early and let your listing get stale.”

3. The Appearance

How’s the curb appeal of your home? How about the inside? A home that doesn’t show well takes longer to sell.

Consider staging your home to increase the showing appeal and bring in more offers. “There is a difference between staged homes and vacant homes,” top Chicago Realtor Alisha Simpkins told Homelight.com. “Typically, a staged home sells for more money and it does sell in a shorter amount of time.”

Staged homes actually sell 87 percent faster than non-staged homes because non-staged homes are filled with your stuff and clutter. This makes it hard for the buyer to visualize themselves in your home, and it will discourage interest. Staging may cost a couple hundred to a couple thousand dollars, but it will likely move your property faster.

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James Stevenson

Hi, My name is James and I've been involved in the property and real estate industry for 10 years now. I hope people will like to read about my thoughts and experiences in the industry and please contact me if you want to discuss my articles further!

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