House wont sell why?
Answer:
Assuming that everything is as you say, the primary reason that a house does not sell is price.
Many agents make a big deal about "location, location, location" as being the 3 most important items in real estate sales. That's bunk! Even a dump in a crap neighborhood will sell if the price is right.
Whether you stay with your current realtor is up to you. Most listings are placed in the MLS so that any realtor can show the property. In fact, few realtors sell the properties that they list; nearly all transactions involve a commission split. I've bought and sold many homes and every one involved a split commission.
It might be a good idea to take it off the market for a couple of weeks and re-list it with another realtor. Try to find one who will actively market your home, if only to other realtors. The more exposure you get, the better the chance of someone coming up with a buyer. Switching realtors will "freshen" your listing a bit; stale listings are death on a sale. You might also consider lowering your price a bit as well.
But before you do anything, ask your realtor what the feedback was from the 15 viewings! Many viewers will make comments about the home and unless it's being shown by a "buyer's agent" with a specific buyer's agent agreement, you are entitled to know what those comments were. If your realtor is not passing that information to you, you definitely should give them the pink slip and get a better agent!
I broke a listing agreement several months ago when the agent showed it twice and failed to pass on the comments to me. She had allowed them to roam around the house unaccompanied for the most part and had no clue what their thoughts were. She threatened to sue but her broker agreed that she was unprofessional and that I was justified in breaking the listing agreement.
He's not getting feedback? And then says that he'll put it in the paper but fails to follow through? Can that sucker!!
One thing that I've noted as a buyer is the alarming number of realtors who break the cardinal rule of selling: The fail to ask for the sale! Try having a decoy look at the house and make some positive comments about it and report back on the agent's performance. If he's not asking for the sale, he's HISTORY!
There could be a lot of reasons. It's hard to say without seeing it. It could have to do with the layout, decor, or even the color of the walls.
yes
15 showings in 4 months is not alot. try another Realtor, or advertise it yourself.
switch Realtors, they really aren't doing much to help you sell the property
list it as a great starter home,,with several realtors
It's a buyer's market out there now. You're going to have a challenge selling it, no matter what you do. Lowering the price might help, but would you want to do that? Sprucing up the "curb appeal" might help also. Location is important. You don't mention what sort of neighborhood the property is located. Honestly, unless your realtor is neglecting you and/or the property isn't properly listed, I'd stick with someone with whom you're already familiar. It's going to be tough for you to sell your home due to the market. Your realtor probably has some suggestions for you. I wish you good luck.
Let's ask this question. Do you feel your realtor is aggressive and really wished to sell this house? Ask your realtor if you should take your house off of the market for a couple weeks, then put it back on. After houses have been on the market more than a month, they become "stale" not only will other realtors not care to show it, assuming that it is not worth it, or it would have sold, some think that they can get you to come way down on your price since you haven't sold it. If you take it off and put it back on, it is a NEW listing to all the buyers agents! You should also be having open houses every weekend, and that is your realtor's job. I am speaking from the California Real Estate perspective, which is very aggressive, but don't back down!!
Yes, switch realtors and maybe change decoration or new realtors give you good idea. Good luck.
Your area could in fact be inundated with lots of inventory on the market (i.e., lots of other comparable homes competing for diminishing pool of buyers). Lots of people are trying to sell now, as the infamous housing bubble starts deflating.
Hate to suggest this, but you might try to lower your price by a large amount. Your competitors (i.e., other home sellers) will hate you, but at least you'll be able to unload a cumbersome asset.
If you're stuck with that house, I'm sure I don't have to tell you what kind of carrying cost you're going to have to shoulder to take care of the place (maintenance, taxes, insurance, worrying about it, etc.). Real estate is fine in a hot market, but when things chill out, like they're doing lately, you come to know the real cost of R.E. ownership.
Good night, and good luck. Col. Kurtz
the upkeep is to costly
the house market is down very few are selling it is a buyers market.
Just taking your word for it that the house is "move-in condition", I would suggest a new real estate agent when your contract is up.
Overpriced? is the number one reason. Soft market (too many choices for buyers to choose from) Some flaw like: no trees or shade? too many trees? hilly lot? busy street? trashy neighbors? bad school district? strange or unappealing design? looks bad from the street for some reason? (many people do drive bys and won't stop and look if the outside scares them away)
Definitely change Realtors, just for a new perspective, switch firms, get someone who you know has made sales, switch genders (seriously, man or woman, get the opposite)
Wow. Your description tells a story to me. I am a former real estate agent. First of all.the market changed from last year in many areas. The housing market was selling higher than ever.
Today with many wanting to sell to get much dollar for their property it is causing a buyers market. Many homes are no longer going to sell as high as they were last over the last couple years due to increased competition.
Secondly..any home that gets 15 showings without a bite says something. Has any of the realtors showing it provided feedback on their buyers comments? I would ask your current realtor to track down their showing realtor to find out their opinion of your property in comparison to the one they purchased or saw.
Do you feel comfortable that your realtor is marketing your property? 15 showing to me says they are,but what do you think?
Are they advertising your home for sale in the area newspapers,
MLS, etc. I would ask your realtor to provide feedback and new marketing strategies to decided if relisting with them is in your best interest.
Best wishes. This is currently a tough market in many areas.
The dollar amount you were going to get last year is more than likely not the one you will get this year.
Decide what your bottom $ line is. Work from there. Sometimes people hold out for a dollar amount which only costs them more in the long run. Winter is coming..heating bills, etc. How much will this cost you by keeping it at your current listing price?
Just some food for thought.
Is the house empty?? I hear it is easier to sell if there is furniture in the house. also, if you can, try to get the honest opinions of people who walk through your house on what needs to be changed or improved.
When I was looking to buy a house, if the site didn't have interior pics, I really didn't bother wasting my time viewing the house. Might want to think about that as well.
someone told me once..
"when you wanna sell something, make sure you leave a little extra on the table for the buyer so that he's attracted to your product more than others. It maybe price, payment terms, etc."
So if the buyers looking at 5 properties in your neighborhood, and everything looks the same, the person offering the right 'sweetner' will be the one getting the sale!
Additionally, I would also go with another realtor.
Switch to the largest realty company in your area. They may charge a little more commission but they'll probably sell your home by having more ads and exposure. Think about including some type of home warranty too. Make sure all the rooms are painted with neutral colors and have someone else check to see if your home has a bad smell. There may be something unpleasant in the air that you are used to.
There is a flood of homes on the market currently, making it a buyers market. People are looking for the best deal they can get. I have personally seen up to $30,000 in upgrades and closing costs offered by new home builders, so it is putting a crunch on the resale market..think about it. Who can compete with the builders?
It may not have anything to do with the home itself. Have you ever considered the location. It might be out of the way or not in a convenient location. It could be that the real estate market is bogged down right now, not a lot of people are buying houses due to the economy. I know some real estate agents and some of them are saying they are lucky to get one closing every 2 months, 1 a month if they are really lucky. You might want to try another Realtor, but I don't think that is the problem, they make money selling your house for you, so why wouldn't they do there job? I think its more likely your location or the slow market right now.
I have been helping my mother try to sale her house and she is going through the same thing you are. The problem is that to many house's are up for sale and not enough buyers. She even changed Realtors and that didn't help. She has had more people look at the house but no one that's really interested in it. We have remodeled her house and that doesn't even seem to matter right now..her house is 3 bedrooms 2 baths 2 car garage, very very nice house and its up for 90.000 and its the nicest house in her flat but that's doesn't seem to matter. I don't think its the house at all. Its the economy. So don't worry it will sale in time maybe not when you want it too but it will sale..
Most folks can't afford the cost of a house the conventional way. They go to ARMS to buy houses they can't afford. You know interest only loans 1percent so on so forth. With all the horror stories about mortgages payments higher than fixed rates when you have an ARM everyone is afraid to buy a house and then when told a mortgage payment for a 250,000 house is 2000 a month they know that is out of the question. Unable to get out of the ARM loans without paying a 3 percent penalty folks don't want to get involved in what appears to be a scheme therefore you will have less buyers. Alot of people can't afford fixed rates so you have no one that can really afford to buy your house. Remember no one is going to use all their money to make a mortgage payment. That is why banks use ratios like only 30 percent of your net monthy income to cover mortgage payments so you can have food lights car note and other discretionary spending. It doesn't matter how much you lower your price or how nice your house is if folks can't afford it folks can't afford it. Remember new home builders, investors, real estate agents and flippers started this mess and Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac encouraged it. No one should be paying the cost of home as they stand today. The saddest thing is with foreclosures in your neighborhood and people willing to sell at any cost will drive the price of your home down and you may not be able to sell it without a loss and the bank may not agree to that. Stay in place into 2008 and then see what the market does. Sorry we all bought into it. Greedy real estate agents spurred it on. Now real estate agents, new homebuilders, investors and flippers are getting caught in a web of their own doing. What ever you do don't buy a condo. You will never ever be able to sell it. To many came on line and some of them are being turned back into apartments. New homes are sitting empty because investors bought to many hoping to make a quick profit. It's just a mess. I owed only 120k on mine I will make a profit if I sell at below appraisal most kids now are basicly screwed. I don't see how anyone can possibly come out of it better than before with so much inventory and still basicly high prices because people have to sell for what they bought it for and the same house down the street is selling for 50 thou less why buy yours. Mess Mess Mess is all I can say. Well Good Luck and hope someone says you have the house they have dreamed of all their lives because that is pretty much what you need to have happen to unload it. Everyone read patrick.net and get yourself a real picture of the real estate market.
Right now, 4 months is not very long. There could be several different reasons why no one has made an offer, and it could just be as simple as no one shows any interest in what the house has to offer. However, there has all throughout the country been a home sale decrease, where it can take months for a house to sell. 6+ even.
1st - call the broker and speak with the manager, letting them know that you are unhappy with the current agent, also let them know your listing agreement is about to expire. I had a selling agent who seemed to "lose interest" until I made a phone call. The manager may also be able to switch agents and keep the sale.
2nd - your listing on Realtor.com doesn't have accurate info and is missing info. The age of the home says 999 years. The square footage is not listed.
3rd - lower your price to unload it. 15 potential buyers have walked out for some reason. It may be a stupid reason, but it is probably price.
4th - go with the "spy" suggestion. have a friend go through the process of contacting the agent through taking a look. They can take notes about the whole process. Big things to look out for - availability of agent (do they make a reasonable effort to show the house when the buyer wants). Does the agent take them all through the house or let them wander? Have them make comments about your house and see if you get the feedback.
5th - from the listing on realtor.com it is hard to compare yours to any others (not many show square footage). However there is at least one listing that has central air, seems to be similar in size, and is lower in price. Ask your realtor for a MLS printout from 0 to 150K (1 line description per listing). You can eliminate those which are in bad neighborhoods, have alot lower/higher sq ft etc until you are left with a handful of listings. Get the MLS sheet on each so you can compare these better and see where your house stands against the others.
Good Luck
Not sure if this would help. Usually, a housing market correction last for years. It is unlikely things will brighten up in a few months, afterall, this bubble took 5 years for form.
It might be better to give some discount so you unload the house quickly and can use the gain of the home to make money elsewhere quickly. At the same time, you will save money by not paying mortgage for the next 5 months.
For example, if mortgage is $2500/mo. and you have $300,000 gain sitting in the house, by selling it now rather than 5 months later will save you $12500. It will also earn you as much as $7000 from interests (Assuming CD are paying 5.5% or higher).
Total financial benefit for selling early would be $20,000. I would give buyer some discount just because of that.
Finally, keeping a house in selling condition is a lot of work. If your realtor does staging, it costs extra to rent furnitures. If you are living in the unit, it takes extra effort to keep it clean. So, sell it fast!
http://money.cnn.com/2006/09/08/real_est.
http://money.cnn.com/2006/09/05/real_est.
Do you want to sell it? If the answer is yes.. then do the following:
1. Fire your existing agent
2. Interview several agents (only sign with someone who will)
a. Hire a professional staging company
b. Advertise in local and national papers (if appropriate)
c. Price your home less than any (comparable) home listed in your area.
whoever you pick, make sure you have specific timelines. Example, realtor will hold open house twice monthly- offer food, advertise in local papers, or the listing can be cancelled by seller, hold them accountable.
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