Have you ever heard of selling anything, including a home, by using the process of elimination?
If something isn’t working currently, then we analyze the possible reasons why. If your home is currently listed for sale and it’s not selling, there is a reason.
First, let’s take a look at the key factors of selling a home:
1. Price of Home.
Price is one of the main determining factors of why anything doesn’t sell, including your home. Overpricing a home will lead to disappointment, fewer showings, and a waste of everyone’s time and energy. You can read more about overpricing versus underpricing your home here.
Good agents will tell you honestly what your home may be worth to a potential buyer. Keep in mind; there are plenty of Realtors out there who will tell you what you want to hear, which isn’t always the truth. Overpricing a home is part of how they get your house listed.
One of the first questions a buyer will ask their Realtor is, “How long has this home been on the market?” In fact, in today’s day and age, they usually find out themselves using websites like Zillow. If your home has been sitting on the market for an unusually long period of time, buyers will think something is wrong with your home!
Here’s a straightforward way to avoid overpricing your home. Interview three real estate agents and see what they think your home is worth. If two agents say it’s worth $400,000 and one says $500,000, then you know it’s closer to $400,000.
Your home is priced right; now what? Once you’ve concluded that price is not the problem, then you can move on to the next step in the process of elimination.
2. Condition of Home.
What is the condition of your home? For the most part, today’s homebuyers don’t want to buy your “project” — they’ll go down the street and buy a home that is “move-in ready.” I won’t go into too much detail here. Just watch HGTV and use some common sense. Don’t leave questions in the buyer’s mind about how much money it will take for them to move in. Replace carpet, paint, touch up, and clean! If you want top dollar for your house, then take any possible questions out of a buyer’s mind about the home’s condition. For everything a buyer has to do to make your home move-in ready, they will take thousands off an offer amount, and if you are lucky, you’ll get a low-ball offer.
If you want top dollar for your house, then take any possible questions out of a buyer’s mind about the home’s condition. For everything a buyer has to do to make your home move-in ready, they will take thousands off an offer amount … and if you are lucky, you’ll get a low-ball offer. You can read more about how to prepare your house for sale here.
3. How Mistakes in Marketing Your House Will Decrease The Bottom Line.
How you market your home is huge! One of the biggest mistakes Realtors make when selling homes is that they don’t take the unique qualities of each and every home into consideration. Our job is to come up with a strategic marketing plan that will set your house apart from the competition and get qualified buyers in the door.
Gorgeous photography will get buyers in your home!
The biggest mistake I see Realtors make when marketing listings is using poor photography in their marketing. I got the inspiration to write this whole article based on a current listing on the market with another Realtor. The seller contacted me and wants to re-list the property with another agent because they are not happy with their traffic. The first thing I do is look at what other agents are not doing right! The photography was blurry and taken with a camera phone. You could hardly make out the photos. It’s a disgrace that this home has been on the market for six months with photos that look unprofessional.
If your home isn’t selling, then it’s time to look at these three components of what’s being done to move the property — and make a change if something’s not working.
If you are thinking of switching Realtors and are in the Tampa, St. Petersburg, or Clearwater areas, you can contact my team and me here.
Looking for more buying and selling tips? Head over to porch.com and check out their article from agents around the country.
