Why Isn't My House Selling?

There are four reasons why a house might not sell immediately after being placed on the market; timing, location, price and condition.

Timing has to do with market and season. If the market is soft or a buyers market, houses take longer to sell because there are more houses on the market than there are buyers. Buyers have the time to view lots of houses before they decide which one to make an offer on.
If a seller made the mistake of putting their house on the market during the latter part of the year, during the holidays, the house will take longer to sell. Best time to place a house on the market is during the spring to mid summer season. Reason is, families with children start looking in the spring and want to be all moved in by the time school starts so their children can start a new school at the beginning of the school year. No parent wants to pull their child out and have them start after the school year. In addition, during spring and summer the weather is warmer and there is more daylight.

Location can hinder house sales. If the house is on a busy street, next to a school (some people don’t like living so close to a middle or high school) or in an undesirable neighborhood it will take longer to receive an offer. Although sellers can not control their home’s location, it may be a little harder to sell compared to other homes.

Price and condition go hand in hand. When listing a house, Realtors will give homeowner comparables or comps of similar homes which are presently on the market or have sold within the past few months. Homeowners decide what to set the price at. Some homeowners have a certain amount of money they would like to get out of the house sale. Others look at the comps and pick a happy medium.

What homeowners don’t realize is although they have set the “listing price”, it is ultimately buyers who set the “value” price. Sellers want the most money they can make from the home sale and buyers want the best value they can get for their money. So if the home looks dated, is too personal or has a lot of distractions which take away from the house, buyer will feel the house is not worth the asking price and will either deduct from the listing price or forget about the house all together.

Staging is a happy medium. It allows sellers to get close to, if not their full asking price and allows buyers to buy a house which is in “move in ready” condition. "As is" in buyer's eyes mean fixer upper. Don’t let buyer think your house is worth less than it is.

Remeber...Don't lower your asking price; raise your home's value instead!

Stage it! Style it! Sell it!