You list your home for sale. You get an offer. You close the deal. In a perfect world, that’s what happens. However, there is no such thing as perfect, and some of us have to wait for several months to get an offer. (And maybe some of us never even got an offer.)
If your property is still on the market after months and months of waiting, reassess it with this helpful list of the most common reasons why your home is not selling.
Your home is not priced correctly.
While putting up your home for sale at a high price may sound like a sure way to earn money from it, it can also discourage buyers (fast!) from making offers. The higher the price, the smaller the pool of willing buyers. Because everyone wants to get the best deal possible in everything that they invest in, a steep priced home without a clear, distinguishable added value is unfortunately a huge turnoff.
If the other homes in your neighborhood are selling but yours is not, or if your listing is not getting enough traffic, your home might be priced too high.
Your listing needs improvement.
Your listing is a form of marketing. It’s where the buyers can see photos of every part of your home, and learn about its features, pricing, and more. It’s a way to show off your property on the internet to let the buyers know what exactly you are offering. Therefore, if your listing lacks information, has poorly written descriptions (too wordy or does not tell much), does not have enough photos, or has low-quality photos (blurry, pixelated, or dark photos), it might be the reason why your home is not attracting any buyers.
Look at your listing as if you’re a buyer. Are the photos clear and professional? Do the photos clearly show you the rooms in the home (and are not focused on furniture or irrelevant details instead)? Does your listing talk about your home’s special features? Does it tell them about the community it is in? Pay attention to these “small” but very important details.
You need to improve your home’s curb appeal.
As with anything else, aesthetics plays a great role in selling something. If your home is in poor condition, or is too cluttered or obviously needs serious repairs, the house will never be attractive to buyers.
Even if you hire the most expensive professional photographer to take photos of your home, high-quality photos cannot fix an ugly house. Be sure to complete the necessary repairs and upgrades to make your property look great – both in photos and in person.
You’re hiding major defects or flaws.
Homes that look grand, well-maintained, and beautiful in photos but do not even look like such in person are a major turnoff. If the buyers do not see the same house that they saw in your listing or if they discover major flaws upon visiting the property, they will feel deceived which is a sure way to push them away.
Do the photos in your listing show the actual status of your home? Are you hiding major defects that will soon require repairs or upgrades? Be honest in your listing and address major defects when putting up your home for sale. Surprises are not always good, especially when they require time and money to fix.
Your home is too “you.”
Sure, your home is yours and you can do whatever you want with it. You can decorate it however you want to. After all, the freedom to do so is only one of many reasons why we buy our own homes, right? However, when it is time to sell your home, cut back on the personalization. Your home will soon be someone else’s anyway.
Is your home painted in all purple? Does it feature monogrammed furniture? Or is it plastered in clown-themed wallpaper to match your collection of clowns? While these personalizations may have made you happy at some point, it may not have the same effect on your prospective buyers once they see them. Your overly personalized home can be the reason why your prospective buyer chooses to not proceed to the next step.
Homebuyers are on the hunt for turnkey properties – homes that will not require costly remodeling at the outset. They want a house they can imagine themselves living in. While it’s true that each buyer has different tastes and preferences and it is impossible to please everyone, a more neutral design will attract more prospective buyers than a boldly decorated or overly personalized home.
Staging your home, completing the necessary repairs and upgrades, changing the design, or waiting for someone to take interest in your listing require a lot of patience, time, effort, and of course, money. Luckily, We Buy Any House Fast has a team of expert real estate professionals to help you sell your home quickly without all the hassle and waiting. Speak with one of our representatives today at 800-976-SOLD to get started!
Photo Credits Nattanan Kanchanaprat and Jolene Hardy