When you first put your house on the market, you might be hopeful for a quick sale — especially if you’ve put a lot of money into improving the house over the years and if the neighborhood is one that has historically attracted a lot of buyers. While you shouldn’t panic if the house doesn’t sell the moment you list it, you should begin to worry if the months start flying by without any real offers. If this is the case, here are 11 reasons why your house may not be selling.
- You overvalued your property. If your house is overpriced, it’s simply not going to sell. Compare your property to similar properties that recently sold within your area to get a better idea of its true value. An experienced real estate agent can give you an accurate value of your home — and you should listen to what they have to say. Additionally, don’t make the mistake of tacking on the cost of any renovations you made. Don’t assume that the cost of a renovation translates to added value.
- Your listing is poor. If the listing of your home includes a poorly written description without any images, a lot of buyers are going to skip over it. Make sure you and your REALTOR® put an effort into creating a listing that attracts the attention of buyers. Make sure to add high quality photographs of both the interior and exterior of your home. Don’t forget to highlight unique features as well.
- You’re always present at showings. Let your agent handle your showings. Buyers don’t want to have the seller lurking over their shoulder during showings, especially during an open house. This puts unwanted pressure on the buyer, which will make them uncomfortable and likely chase them away.
- You’re too attached. If you refuse to negotiate even a penny off your price, then there’s a good chance you’ve become too attached to your home. If a part of you doesn’t want to sell it, or you think your house is the best house in the world, odds are you’re going to have a lot of difficulties coming to an agreement with a potential buyer.
- You haven’t had your home professionally cleaned. A dirty house is going to leave a bad impression on buyers. Make sure you have a professional clean your carpeting and windows before you begin showing your house. THis goes for the outside, too. Have someone make sure the landscaping is in tip-top shape and consider pressure washing the exterior to nail that first impression.
- You haven’t staged your home. Even if you think your home is perfect the way it is and fits your family as-is, consider your Realtor’s advice when discussing www. Large piece of furniture in small rooms make the rooms feel tiny, and cutting off the natural flow of the home may confuse buyers as to where to go next. You want the buyer to feel at home when they are taking the tour, so consider putting some larger or more personal pieces in storage (or with a good friend!) prior to your move.
- You kept out all of your personal décor. Buyers are going to feel uncomfortable touring your house if you keep all of your family portraits up. Take down your personal décor so that buyers can have an easier time imagining themselves living there. It’s hard to imagine their family photo hanging perfectly above the fireplace flanked with boxwood wreaths if yours is still there staring them down as they walk through.
- Your home improvements are too personalized. You might think that the comic book mural you painted for your child’s room is absolutely incredible, but that doesn’t mean potential buyers will agree. If your home improvements are too personalized, it can scare off buyers who don’t want to pay for features they don’t want. Consider bringing the home back to a neutral color scheme to help it sell quicker.
- Your home is too cluttered. Even if your home is clean, clutter can still be an issue. For example, maybe you simply have too much furniture in one of your rooms or lots of items on the countertops. This can make the house feel smaller than it is and gives an appearance of a lack of storage space.
- Your home is in need of too many repairs. The more repairs needed, the less likely a buyer will want your house. Many buyers simply don’t want to deal with the cost or effort of doing repair work, even if it’s just a bunch of small repairs, such as tightening a handrail or replacing a broken tile. Many times, buyers also have no idea how easy and inexpensive some of these repairs are and will assign a higher cost. If they do put in an offer, they’re taking into account all those little projects on which they’ve placed a higher cost.
- You chose the wrong real agent. In my opinion, choosing the right real estate office is simply the most important decision you make in selling your home. A good REALTOR® makes all the difference in selling your home within a reasonable time, and have an entire team to walk you through the process can make this stressful time seem much easier.
All these things can be fixed once you realize your mistake; however, the longer your property stays on the market, the less likely it will sell at listing price. You can avoid many of these mistakes by working with the Les Walden Real Estate Team and heeding what we have to say. After all, there’s a reason we’ve been able to help more than 2,000 families sell their homes in Upstate South Carolina!