Why won't my house sell?

Question

We have owned our home for 6 years and have put in over $150K into the house in improvements. There is a brand new 2nd story addition, new windows, new siding, new roof, new deck, new driveway, and a new kitchen. We have done all the things realtors tell you to do in order to sell and nothing has worked. Not even baking bread before potential buyers come over. We live in the suburbs of Chicago, in a good neighborhood, very close to a good grade school and on a very quiet street.

We have also lowered our price to a basically "break even" point. So its not like were trying to make a bunch of money.

So why won't this house sell?

Answer 1

You have to look at the market conditions. It could be that right now the market in your area is "flooded" and there is just not enough demand for houses. More than likely the timing is bad.

Also, how is the location?

Answer 2

There is no way an utter stranger can give you the answer to your question without learning more about the neighborhood and your house. Off the cuff, it sounds as though you may have over improved. $150,000 is a LOT of money. One can buy a house for that if he shops carefully in your area. It seems to me that you may have gone into this house with the expectation of making a substantial profit down the road. Now that you think you're where you need to be, you're finding no one is interested in the product: the renovated house. Judging from the amount of money you invested, not including the purchase price, plainly and simply, I think you may have put too much into it and are going to have to either eat the loss or live in the house until the market reaches the value necessary for you to recoup what you have in the structure.

I'd be interested in knowing whether I'm wrong.

One thing I've learned about realtors. They seldom know beans about upgrading a house with an eye toward making a profit on the resale. If that's what you had in mind, you should find anyone in the area who is successful in investment real estate other than a realtor. I used to be one and I've also had rental properties. Get some books from the public library on the subject. Robert G Allen's How to Make Money in Real Estate is a classic and more than useful. Look for any literature along that line and study it until you can't think of anything else. Then, take another look at what you've done as compared to what you should have done.

Good luck with the sale.

Answer 3

You are lacking "creativity!" In this market, where inventory is high, and the pool of potential buyers is low, you need an EDGE in your market.

Whether you are working with a Realtor or not, there are some really creative ways to bring that contract through the door.

How about a BUY-DOWN? What? Never heard of it? Then, perhaps you are not working with the best specialists! A buy down is where you, as the sellers, help the financing portion of the sale---making a VERY enticing package for the borrowers...

For example, if you were to pay about 2 points towards the closing, the buyer could secure a rate that could be 2% better than today's going rate! Would that help you sell your house?

YES IT WILL!

How do I know? Because I do this type of thing all day long with the Realtors I work with.

Feel free to contact me for more information, and best of luck to you!

Answer 4

Before I bought my place a couple of years ago, a friend gave me some great advice: "Remember, just because the real estate market is doing great now, it may be another ten years before you are able to sell. Expect to be into this for the long term."

The real estate market is just like any other free market, it has highs and lows. Your neighborhood is most likely in just one of those low points right now. If the home has been on the market for a year or more, then you may just have to let the buyers dictate the price or rent the place out instead of selling. If you can stay there, then take the house off the market and stay for a while longer, until you see the next upshot in the market.

Answer 5

I like the baking bread idea a lot! I assume you are staging your home thoughtfully for each showing that occurs, making sure the place looks clean, comfortable and inviting.

Remember that the real estate market is in a slump nationwide right now, so there are simply not enough motivated buyers looking for property. Many buyers are sitting on the sidelines, assuming that prices will continue to fall and that they will be able to scoop up a deal if they wait long enough. Of course, there are also plenty of sellers who are also standing their ground on price, figuring the pendulum will swing back in their direction again soon enough.

So we have an impasse, generally, and most people are watching the Fed and its position on interest rates for a signal about when the long series of increases will come to an end. When this occurs (and it will), the market will emerge from the doldrums.

Your house will sell. Don't give up!

Answer 6

The market is not great now for homes selling.

I assume you have cleaned all the clutter out of your house, repainted or did touch up painting, worked on your house's curb appeal (and backyard appeal), etc.

Is your house overpriced as compared to other houses in the area? If your house is two-story and the other homes are one story and priced less, you may have a problem. Not many home improvements will yield a 100% return when it comes time to sell.

What about your realtor? Is he or she doing an adequate job of marketing your house? Is there an online listing? Do the photos and descriptions put your house in the best light?

Sorry you are having these difficulties - I hope you sell by the end of the summer.

Answer 7

Is the selling market low therer? Its a buyers market here in Minnesota. There are like 10 or something like that houses on the market for each buyer. Realtors are telling sellers it could take up to a year to sell. I'm not sure how the housing market is there but, I heard its kinda that way a lot of places lately. We have a lot of foreclosures from people having arms.

Answer 8

It's a buyers market. The same thing happened to the neighbors next door to us. Their house is pristine and was even featured as the house of the week in the paper but no one gave them an offer until they had drastically reduced the price. They did sell the house but ended up taking a loss right up to the inspection where they ended up taking off a few more thousand for trivial things in order to close the deal. You are going to need to lower the price again in order to tempt buyers.

Answer 9

What is your asking price? How is it compared to other homes for sale in your area? How long were the other homes on the market before they sold? What were the prices?

I agree with the other answerer's- the market may be flooded, and the economy may affect your home. How is the employment rate in the Chicago area? (I am from Ohio and unemployment is still high)

Have your tried to bury a statue of St. Joseph? This is an old custom and quite often, after the statue is buried, the house sells.

Good luck, you deserve a break!

Answer 10

MzFizzy is correct. Get a Realtor that thinks outside the box. Whether it be cash at closing, seller financing, a lease purchase option or other creative means, you need to have an edge. For example, giving 10k at closing is much better than dropping the price 10k. Also, structure your listing contract where your agent gets 1% and the buyer's agent gets 4%. It will motivate both agents to find a buyer.

Regards

Answer 11

the nearest that I lived to a short foodstuff joint turned right into a Jack interior the field that changed into 3 doors down and for the length of a 5 lane street. It changed into far sufficient away that noise changed into no longer an situation and site visitors changed into heavy sufficient that if I timed it accurate i ought to do a runner again to the abode without paying and then watch the shift supervisor get hit by using a garbage truck or streetcar as he ran after me. The stench from a KFC next door may were too a lot to undergo, and they could have stuck me anytime. Frankly, i'd rather stay next door to a Republican than a KFC.