Can someone tell me why my house did not sell?
I can tell you why it did not sell but you might not like the truth. It maybe the Realtors fault but it is just as much your fault as well. Here is why:
What is the number one reason a house does not sell? Dig deep and answer this honestly. It is price a good majority of the time. If your home is not selling, buyers are thinking the value of the house is less than the price you want. You need to find the "magic" number by having a CMA (comparative market analyst) completed and listen to what it says. The answer is my house is better then all the houses on that CMA is the wrong answer. That is your heart talking not your business brain.
What you "need" from the sale of your home means absolutely nothing to the buyers in the marketplace. Think of it, if you are looking at a house would you overpay because the buyer "needs" the extra money to put down on a larger home? You may laugh at this but sellers say they "need" to me all the time.
Ego also gets in the way. Your neighbour sold for $300,000 last year so you want $320,000 because you "know" that you house is better. Everyone thinks their home is the best home on the street. Unfortunately for sellers, the sellers opinion does not carry any weight with the buyers as the buyers opinion only matters.
Not every reason your home has not sold is the price. The product could also be an issue. Your home must be clean and tidy for all showings. The curb appeal must be at its best at all times during the sale. You will find a million hints on this on the Internet so I am not going to take much time on that.
OK Brad, you have blamed the Seller enough, when is it the Realtors fault????
The Realtor has many blames here as well. Here is what Realtors can do wrong right from the start. In my profession I know that Sellers do not always price the house, the Realtor does. I have seen it when the Seller is thinking of listing the house at $200,000 but the Realtor comes in and says put the house on for $250,000. You are saying WOW this is great, an extra fifty Gs! This is what I call "buying the listing". Some Realtors just want a listing and will tell you what you want to hear to get it. This happens a lot when Realtors are competing for the listing. How not to fall for this is to look at the Realtor's CMA. Does it make sense? Did the Realtor just pull the number out of thin air? Insist on a complete, precise CMA.
Other areas Realtors fail is lack of marketing (Internet NOT paper), bad pictures, bad description, lack of virtual tour. Why is all these things important? Did you know 98% of buyers research their next home on the Internet before contacting an agent. They have already made a decision to look at your house or not on the basis of the above marketing. It must be done correctly.
I can help you with every aspect of selling your home including the correct pricing and the right marketing. If your Realtor is not all over the Internet then your house is not either. It is all about the eyeballs people! The more people that see your house the more money you will get for it with less time spent on the market!
