Why Your MN Home Won't Sell

Real Estate Agent On Why Your Home Won't Sell

When your home is not getting offers in a seller’s market, it is no surprise that you are not in your happy place. It’s not how you expected things to go. You thought it would sell quickly. Now you are asking your realtor why other properties are selling while your listing is growing moss.

Taking more time to sell a home happens all too often. As an agent who has been in the business for 16 years, I have been in this scenario. Here are what I’ve found to be the seven most common reasons a home isn’t selling.

The Price is Too High

The most common reason a home is not moving even in a market favorable to sellers is incorrect pricing.  At the listing time, your realtor should do a market analysis of properties comparable to yours that recently sold. The price comparison is the best method to determine the asking price.

There are times sellers disagree and insist their home is worth more. There are often factors that the seller didn’t consider that affect the value. To neutralize the adverse effect of imperfections, a price adjustment is necessary. The price of a home should align with its condition.

Buyers today are savvy, and most of them are working with agents who also do a market analysis to determine home values. This helps buyers arrive at a fair price to offer a seller based on both the market and the condition of the house they want to buy. 

Online Photos are Poor Quality

The first introduction a prospective buyer has of your home is the photos they see online. If they are not professional quality, they are not doing you justice as a seller. Online images that are dark, blurry, turned sideways, or upside down is not acceptable.

Inadequate Marketing

If you thought all agents were the same, this is where you find out that is not true. How and where your realtor markets your home can make a difference in how fast you sell it and how much you make on the deal. 

In addition to the quality of photos mentioned above, you need your home to get exposure on all the hot social media spots. Does your agent have a website where he will promote your listing? Is it on Zillow? Does your agent have a Facebook page where he posts your listing?  Did your agent kick off the marketing of your home with an Open House to generate excitement?

If the response to any of the above was “no,” then perhaps you need to have a conversation with your listing agent.

Your Home Is Cluttered

When you listed your home, there should have been a conversation with your Realtor about presenting your home in its best possible light. Part of the process to that end should include decluttering your living space.

Closets should be only ¾ full, likewise every drawer and cabinet in the home. Excess furniture that makes your living space appear cramped should go into storage. Personal family items such as photos, awards, trophies, sports memorabilia, and religious icons should be removed and packed away. Last but not least, your home should be white-glove clean.

Your Home in Disrepair is Not a Good Look

Over time you perhaps have become so accustomed to ignoring minor repairs that you think they are not a big deal. They are to a buyer. If you have peeling paint, broken floor tiles, leaky faucets, damaged countertops, and stained carpeting, this is going to be a significant buyer turnoff.

Not only does it make your home appear undesirable, but it leads buyers to believe that if you neglected what is out in plain sight, you probably didn’t maintain the systems in your home either.

Significant Repairs or Mechanical Replacements Looming

Believe it or not, buyers do not want to face the need to replace a roof or a heating system soon after purchasing a home. It would help if you addressed significant improvements that fall in this category before you put your house up for sale.

Home Has an Odor Problem

Funky smells are big turnoffs for buyers. I can’t emphasize this too much. If your house smells of doggie or animal urine, cigarette smoke, old greasy kitchen, or mold, you need to address this if you expect to sell your home.

You Hang Around During Showings

If you think hanging out in the house to keep an eye on things or answer questions for buyers is helping your home sell, guess again. The first step in getting to an offer is allowing the buyers to make an emotional attachment to your property and picture themselves living in it. The seller’s presence will torpedo the chance of that happening. Additionally, buyers are uncomfortable opening closets and cabinets and looking into nooks and crannies in front of a homeowner. Also, they will not feel free to discuss objections to the property they may have with their agent.

Your Curb Appeal Gets a D-

When a buyer approaches the front of your home and sees old cars in the driveway, unkempt lawn, overgrown shrubbery, a battered and rusty mailbox, dirty light fixtures, and a peeling front door, they will not be impressed. Rather than being motivated to go inside and look around, they will most likely be inspired to skip the home tour altogether.

If you believe your home has been languishing on the market too long, your agent’s experience and knowledge are invaluable. He can tell you the problem and recommend a course of action or a lowering of your sale price to compensate.

As always, thanks for reading.

 

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