Why won't our home sell? Any suggestions?

Question

Home for sale since June. FSBO for two and a half months. Then listed with a very good Realty firm and agent. Listing expired after 3 months and we decided to bring the price down a bit and relist with same firm. House priced correctly for neighborhood. Home next door sold within a month at a certain price above ours--( a bit bigger but not as many amenities-had carpeting and vinyl throughout and needed mega renovations water problem also!) We have hardwood, ceramic and marble flooring , in move in condition and staged to sell). A house across the street also was a great comp and sold a year and a half ago. Realtor has done everything you could possibly do! We don't believe bringing the price down or changing realtors is the answer. The home is beautiful. (Not just saying that because it's ours.) Great location for commuters and the lot is totally level. 4 people are interested but want to "steal" it! Much interest & activity.. Did Open Houses. What more can be done?

Answer 1

i love your question. your home sounds exactly like ours.
we also started out as a fsbo for 2 weeks-then listed with a realtor
we have been on the market for 15 months- all remodeled with corian kit counter top and cherry wood cabinets, loaded with ceramic tile, priced right for the neighborhood, level corner lot,
excellent curb appeal-we have reduced our home several times
it is now priced less than we have in it. just makes me sick, but i want to move and my patience is running out. other homes in this area have sold for faster than others-but-here we sit........
i don't know what the answer is - i even did away with all the cheap builder fixtures and plumbing and upgraded. even put in a
new all leaded glass front door with side lights. when you state the 4 buyers want to "steal it" , my question is are you moving to another home that will increase in value enough for you to take a
loss here and make it back in another home. that's what we have talked about. if you have a serious qualified buyer, ready, willing and able try to get a meeting of the minds and move on.
i truly understand your frustration and wish i had an answer, but
your not alone in this declining housing market we are in today.
you can also look at this as an opportunity to find yourself another
home where the seller is willing to take less than offered.
this truly is a nightmare trying to sell a home in todays market.
you have my blessing and i wish you alot of luck in both selling and purchasing a new home.

Answer 2

If there has been alot of activity, then you're better off than most. That says the price is too high. Not what you want to hear, but probably true. There are buyers out there, but not many that will pay what a house is really worth right now. If you don't have to sell, don't, or consider renting it out. To sell right now you have to have the best, cleanest and lowest priced house of all the comparable houses in your area. There are too many houses for sale for anyone not to get a steal. The listing realtor has very little to do with the sale of the house once it's on the market. They rarely sell their own listings, so you're right to stay. With all the activity, what feedback is he getting? The buyers will tell you what you need to do. Good luck.

Answer 3

Unfortunately, even if your house is priced accurately, it's all about the Buyer's perceived value of the home. The longer your house sits on the market, the less they will want to offer for it. A house that sits for a long time has the perception of having something wrong with it (not visual), or have the perception of having difficult owners. If you've done everything you thought you could, then it sounds like you're just going to have to start lowering the price even more, even if it's less than market value. What you could do is drop it a good amount, hope for some interested parties to do a small bidding war, and then they might bid themselves back up to market value again. That way, the war isn't with the Buyer/Seller...rather you're making it between Buyer/Buyer.

Another idea is to offer an "additional Selling Agent Bonus if in contract by ". That would be financial incentive for the other agents to take consideration on showing your house, because they might be able to get more $$.

You may also want to offer additional terms in favor of the buyer...such as...a closing date at the buyer's convenience, house completely repainted, more appliances included, $1000 bonus for Buyer's moving costs, etc. All of these make them perceive you as amenable to negotiations.

Hope this helps...good luck!

Answer 4

Wow. Ok, you totally confident in your realtor. That's good. As a realtor, I have always been told there is two reasons why a house doesn't sell and that is location and price. You sound like you have a lot of homeowners pride. Understandable, you invested in a lot. But sometimes the upgrades are more valuable to you than others purchasing. ex:marble flooring, ceramic, etc. Of coarse, I don't know where it is located. Open houses are good but not on Sunday because of football and church I would do it on a Saturday. Make sure there is a box out front with property info and a realtor sign. Have pictures in the multiple listing service which your property should. Go to realtor.com and see what prospects see. Also, maybe your realtor can have a brokers/realtor tour. Where all the local brokers/realtors get together and go thru listed houses. Make sure it's being advertised in the local newspaper and online thru there company website. Have your realtor take it out of the mls and back on the market. Once a house is put on the market there is more activity. And for open houses make they are advertised correctly.

Answer 5

Well the truth is that the market right now is really doubtful. A lot of people are afraid of the interest rates right now. They are about to jump in the year to come and the interest is so unstable that people are afraid of buying until they know what is going to happen with the market. The interest right now is low enough to refinance but for sellers its a really bad time of year because there are not too many people who are looking to buy a house because of the rising interest rates. so unless its their dream home or at reasonable price they wont buy. What you can do is reduce your asking price. No matter how much it hurts, it's better to make less than you expected than to not make anything. Maybe you might also look into renting it. you can still make money out of it without the commitment to the other person of getting stuck with it. Or if you need the money you might look into refinancing before this year so that you can still catch good interest rates.

Answer 6

I agree with O'Brien's post. There is something wrong with your price. The main reason homes don't sell fast is price. The real estate section of the Sacramento Bee a few weeks ago interviewed agents, brokers, builders, sellers and buyers. ALL agreed that ultimately when the house was priced for the current market condition, it sold fast. Now you just may not feel right about selling it for less than what you paid, or for less profit than you need/want, but just because the market was hot 18 months ago doesn't mean a thing today - it is all about supply and demand. And right now most markets have more units available, and staying on the market longer, than they have seen in many years. The reality is, you will need to lower your price.

Answer 7

There are three major reasons for a home not selling.
*Location
*Condition
*Price
As you said the location and condition are good so........I would say it is overpriced. Many areas are currently experiencing a price adjustment phase. The homes were simply selling for more money just one year ago...You are going to have to look at your price again..Comps from a year or a year and a half ago are too old. Look within the last 6 months...It does not help that we are going into the holiday season either..Even though the buys who are out there this time of year ore serious buyers there are still fewer of them..

Answer 8

You say it's "staged" - but you may need to declutter and remove as much personal flair as possible. Also take a look at the show Designed to Sell on HGTV it has some great homes that were on the market too long because of flaws you think aren't important, hide a camera at your next open hose and hear what the viewers are saying you might be surprised. Good Luck!

Answer 9

Your house is overpriced. The simple matter is nobody wants to buy it at the price you are asking. Prices are dropping and what another house sold for 3 months or 6 months or 12 months ago is pretty much irrelevant at this point.

It doesn't matter how beautiful something is if nobody wants to purchase it at your asking price. You appear to have done everything correctly to prepare your house for sale the next thing to do is to price the house to sell.

You have interested buyers but not at your asking price. That should make it obvious what the answer to "Why won't our home sell?" is.

Your home won't sell because you won't agree to sell it at the price people are interested in purchasing it.

Answer 10

Hi.....I am a multi million dollar producing realtor. There are 2 reasons that will tell you if a home sells fast.

1. It is priced right
2. Immaculant and the home is in great condition (roof, furnace, central in super shape)

It's this simple. Don't try to over analyze .