Tips for why a home may not be selling- and what to do about it

Having a house sit for too long without any offers is frustrating, and stressful- for you and your clients! No one involved wants to deal with an expired listing, so let’s evaluate what the biggest reasons usually are for the home not selling- and how to adjust your marketing efforts to fix them.

#1 Pricing

Pricing is the most common reason a house isn’t selling, and it’s the big one. If you originally priced too high, you have to have the dreaded “Let’s Lower the Price” discussion. If 30+ buyers have walked through and not made offers, it is probably time to think about lowering.

If comps show that the price isn’t too high- it’s time to review the other possible reasons.

#2 Location Isn’t Ideal

Most buyers look past a home next to the railroad tracks, or potential buyers may feel it’s too close to a busy street, or too far from the action of downtown. You can’t move the house, but you may be able to focus the marketing on a smaller segment of the lookers coming through. Location can be outweighed by other factors, but a really bad location can mean you’re going to have to wait longer, or lower the price to compensate.

#3 Staging and/or Curb Appeal Need Help

Staging, nice landscaping, and entryway updates can make a world of difference in a listing. Decluttering, depersonalizing, and making sure everything is spotlessly clean and smells appealing are all part of the image you’re trying to present to buyers – a new home, set up and ready for them to move in and make their own. Listen to open-house attendees, and feedback from showings. If many of them are focusing on a specific thing they don’t like, tackle fixing that first.

If the homeowner is still living in the house, you could talk to them about packing and moving out to help declutter and make the home feel less personal. If they need to stay, maybe most of their items besides what they need daily could be packed up and moved to storage until the house sells.

#4 The Home Isn’t Standing Out

There’s a buyer out there that’s perfect for every home. YOUR job is connecting with that one person. Most agents make the mistake of trying to advertise a home to appeal to the broadest segment of buyers, and when lots of showings occur with no offers, that’s where their mistake becomes obvious.

Find What Is Unique About Your Listing

Your biggest resource to help you find the special appeal of the home you’re trying to sell is right in front of your nose – it’s the sellers themselves. They know why they bought the home the first time, and they know the best things about living there. Sit them down, have a discussion, and talk to them about their daily lives in the home. Ask them some specific questions, like:

1) Why did you buy this home?

2) What are the advantages of your lot?

3) Can your home’s “orientation” be an advantage?

4) Any “drawbacks” that may attract the right buyer?

5) If your home has been updated, what are the specifics?

6) Are there benefits in the immediate area to highlight?

Most of the time, the seller will help you re-focus your marketing, just by telling the story of why they enjoy living in their home. Think about those features of the home, and write the story of what buyers will love about the life the home provides. Write an ad that tells them what that lifestyle is all about.

Remember – buying a home is about emotion. It’s about the mornings they’ll enjoy drinking coffee on their porch. It’s about prom pictures coming down the stairs. Write an ad about that, instead of generic boring flyers that all say the same things.

Want some specific examples? Read this past article: https://agentinnercircle.com/the-most-dramatic-example-of-how-to-sell-listings-fast/