QUESTION: IF YOUR HOME WON’T SELL OR RENT, CONSIDER THE FOLLOWING:
Reason No. 1. Marketing photos are subpar or not enough photos
Over 70% of home buyers are looking on line with their smart phone. In the digital age buyer’s start looking online, so photography is key to making a great first impression, with the most flattering pictures possible. If buyers are not coming around to see your property and your photos leave a lot to be desired, hiring a photographer could help. Professional photographs can drastically improve the online presence of a listing. Cost vary, but range is $250 to $500 for interior and exterior.
Reason No. 2. Your home is not prettied up.
We are not saying your home doesn’t look nice, but is there oil spills and cracks in your driveway? Does your kitchen scream 1970’s & 1980’s If so, then you’re sending out all the wrong signals.
Think of like dating: When you go on the first date, you expect your date to have showered and be dressed in their best. In home terms, that amounts to staging by a professional who arranges your home for maximum appeal.
Staging can help your home sell faster too… about 20% quicker than a home that is not staged. Cost vary depending on the service. To give you a general idea, the National Association of Realtors found the median cost of staging a home to be $675. Then you do your part and keep it clean. If not a professional home staging, then perhaps a good pre-packing, uncluttering, cleaning, and painting.
Reason No. 3. Your home is too… you
Hey, we’re not judging you—but buyers might. Your flamingo-pink porch and painted black bedrooms might be a bit, um, much for the typical home shopper. It’s time for a candid talk with your Realtor about whether there’s anything around the house you could do to make it more of a neutral backdrop for other people’s home dreams.
You should also make yourself scarce, if not absent, when the property is being shown—no matter how lovely and helpful you are, your presence can make sellers feel self-conscious or pressured to politely ooh and ahh rather than speak their minds.
Finally, make sure to make your house available for showings at times convenient for buyers—not just for you. So expect to give up a few weekends for property browser.
Reason No. 4. You priced your property too high
If you’ve tried all of the above and still can’t get a buyer, then what’s wrong with your home may be the price you’re asking for it. When it comes to homes that are stagnating, Alex Bracke, owner of the Alex Bracke Real Estate Group in Sterling, VA, says he makes one point clear to sellers: “I don’t set the value of their home; they don’t set the value of their home,” Bracke says. “The market sets it.”
Translation: The home is worth no more than what someone is willing to spend for it. So to stir up interest, reduce the price. And don’t be coy—slash it.
“In order to make a splash and get buyers excited, the price reduction must be significant,” says Robin Shidler Broker of Shidler Development Inc. in San Bernardino CA. “Reduce the price by at least 5%, and 10% is even better.”
A price cut doesn’t even mean you’ll take a huge hit.
“Just because a home’s price is reduced does not mean that’s the maximum it can sell for,” says Michels. You’ll hear from new buyers because your house will be in a new price range, and you might even get a bidding war that will bring the price back up to where you started.
