Your Lake Gaston house has been on the market for several months and hasn’t sold. What should you do?
Hopefully you’ve been talking with your listing agent every month to get her feedback, so you already have a good idea why it hasn’t sold. If not, now’s the time to ask “My house has been listed for sale for 6 months and hasn’t sold. What do I need to do to get it sold?”
This is the time to listen, so please resist the temptation to tell your agent why you think it hasn’t sold “I think it’s priced right, maybe it’s because gasoline has gotten so expensive.” Simply ask the question in a straightforward manner and listen to her answer. I can almost guarantee you she knows why it hasn’t sold.
It’s hard for a listing agent to say “You remember when you listed your home, I suggested you list it for $424,900 and take any offer above $410,000. I believe you felt the home was worth more than that, so we listed it for $449,900. Unfortunately, it appears the market is telling us we’ve overpriced it in comparison to other homes on Lake Gaston and buyers are purchasing them instead. I believe we need to reduce the price to $424,900.”
In an active market, overpricing is probably the cause of a home not selling in 80% of the cases.
In perhaps 20% of the cases, the home is properly priced, but doesn’t show well.
There was a house in Myrick Estates that looked fine from the outside and I was surprised it didn’t sell, although I had never seen the inside. Then a couple showed up that seemed like a good match for the house, so I took them to see it.
As the sellers were leaving, they said “Open the curtains if you like. We leave them closed to save on the air conditioning.” The problem was, by the time I got the curtains open, the buyers had walked into another room. Making matters worse, the house was filled from top to bottom with a doll collection. The buyers said somewhat disappointedly, “It’s too bad the rooms are so small.” I replied, “Actually, I think they’re fairly large. Why don’t you walk down to the water and I’ll go get my tape measure.” While they were outside, I opened every curtain, turned on every light, and lowered the thermostat 4 degrees.
The couple ended up buying the house, but at a price I really thought was below its market value. And I couldn’t help but wonder how many earlier buyers had passed it by just because it didn’t show well.
In that rare case where your listing agent doesn’t seem to know why your house hasn’t sold, you’ll have to make a decision as whether to switch to another firm when your listing contract expires or to talk with the broker in charge of the firm you’re with (your contract is actually with the firm, not the individual agent) and ask that another agent be assigned to handle your house.
In any case, hope you get an offer soon. Now, on to "We've got an Offer!"
Hopefully you’ve been talking with your listing agent every month to get her feedback, so you already have a good idea why it hasn’t sold. If not, now’s the time to ask “My house has been listed for sale for 6 months and hasn’t sold. What do I need to do to get it sold?”
This is the time to listen, so please resist the temptation to tell your agent why you think it hasn’t sold “I think it’s priced right, maybe it’s because gasoline has gotten so expensive.” Simply ask the question in a straightforward manner and listen to her answer. I can almost guarantee you she knows why it hasn’t sold.
It’s hard for a listing agent to say “You remember when you listed your home, I suggested you list it for $424,900 and take any offer above $410,000. I believe you felt the home was worth more than that, so we listed it for $449,900. Unfortunately, it appears the market is telling us we’ve overpriced it in comparison to other homes on Lake Gaston and buyers are purchasing them instead. I believe we need to reduce the price to $424,900.”
In an active market, overpricing is probably the cause of a home not selling in 80% of the cases.
In perhaps 20% of the cases, the home is properly priced, but doesn’t show well.
There was a house in Myrick Estates that looked fine from the outside and I was surprised it didn’t sell, although I had never seen the inside. Then a couple showed up that seemed like a good match for the house, so I took them to see it.
As the sellers were leaving, they said “Open the curtains if you like. We leave them closed to save on the air conditioning.” The problem was, by the time I got the curtains open, the buyers had walked into another room. Making matters worse, the house was filled from top to bottom with a doll collection. The buyers said somewhat disappointedly, “It’s too bad the rooms are so small.” I replied, “Actually, I think they’re fairly large. Why don’t you walk down to the water and I’ll go get my tape measure.” While they were outside, I opened every curtain, turned on every light, and lowered the thermostat 4 degrees.
The couple ended up buying the house, but at a price I really thought was below its market value. And I couldn’t help but wonder how many earlier buyers had passed it by just because it didn’t show well.
In that rare case where your listing agent doesn’t seem to know why your house hasn’t sold, you’ll have to make a decision as whether to switch to another firm when your listing contract expires or to talk with the broker in charge of the firm you’re with (your contract is actually with the firm, not the individual agent) and ask that another agent be assigned to handle your house.
In any case, hope you get an offer soon. Now, on to "We've got an Offer!"
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