Having a home sitting on the market for longer than you anticipated can be very frustrating. According to research, homes bought in ten days go for 101.3% of the asking price. After 120 days, the selling price dropped to 97.6%. From these results, it’s clear that the longer a listing stays on the market, the higher the chances of selling it below the list price. It’s a good idea to understand the reasons why houses overstay in the market.
1. Your Home Doesn’t Fit the Mold
Some property features make it more challenging to find a buyer. Your house is either unique or relatively easy to sell. Special properties like massive rooms, odd features, or homes in unusual areas take a little longer to find a matching buyer. In this case, the seller should exercise patience. One should also tweak the advertising and marketing strategy to appeal to potential buyers. Consider the things that appealed to you when you bought the house and look for a buyer who feels the same way.
2. The Asking Price Is Too High
Pricing a home is not straightforward, primarily if you have never sold a home. Exaggerating the price of your property is a common mistake many sellers make that makes their homes stagnate in the market. Consult an experienced agent for advice on how to price the house. Listen to feedback from people who visit the open house. If you want to sell your house, consider the timing of the price reduction. A significant price drop should do, but it shouldn’t be extreme.
3. Poor Staging
Some sellers assume that since buyers aren’t shopping for furniture, they shouldn’t put some thought into the staging. However, staged homes sell faster than empty ones. The nicely arranged furniture gives the potential buyers an imagination of how their stuff will look when they organize the house. However, one shouldn’t cram up the home with their items because the final look might be overwhelming. Poor staging can hinder the display of the home’s best features. Upgrade the house by making minor fixes like repainting, cleaning the yard, and repairing broken items.
4. Unprofessional Listing Photos
Research shows that 44% of buyers look online before doing anything else, and most find listing photographs helpful. Nobody will bother coming to see it if the images don’t show off the property’s stellar features. Please avoid using your phone camera as it might not give good shots. If the realtor doesn’t bring a photographer, go out of the way and get your own. Although hiring a professional photographer might seem like a huge cost, it is necessary and will help your home sell faster.
5. You Ignore Feedback
Even when an open house showing doesn’t bring in a client, it should give you essential feedback to follow. Ensure the agent is asking the potential buyers what their points of concern are and taking the proper steps to fix them. Notice the highly repeated answers and work on them. Common issues include a decluttered home or poorly-lit spaces. Unfortunately, one can’t fix everything, such as if the house is on a busy street.
There’s no need to sit around and hope the house will sell faster, especially if one isn’t doing anything to change the situation. You can change many things to speed up the sale, such as staying in touch with the agent and organizing the paperwork beforehand.
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