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RSS FeedWhy Homes Don't Sell |
Jul. 17, 2007
Categorized in: Real Estate
Why Homes Don’t Sell
With so many homes on the market, and many not selling, I am often asked why some homes sell, while others do not.
Real estate agents and real estate schools often say the reason homes do not sell is price. Although there is always a price where any home will sell, saying that price is the reason is an oversimplification.
There are three main components to getting a home sold. These include the following;
- The asking price
- Product or the condition of the home, land and anything included in the sale
- Promotion or the marketing plan
These have to be in balance for a home sale to take place. Price is almost always blamed for the home not selling, but as we will see this is only partially true.
If the condition of the home is as good as, or better than any of the comparable homes on the market, then the asking price should be higher than if the home is in poor condition. In this sense it is true that price is important, but often the repairs or cleaning of a home to put it into selling condition can be minimal for the home to sell at top dollar. Often the required expenditure is much less than the increased value and desirability of the home.
The same is true with the marketing plan. If the home is properly marketed it should sell at a higher price, and/or in a quicker timeframe and with less aggravation. This is the major reason the For Sale by Owner homes usually sell for much less than Realtor listed homes. For Sale by Owner listings usually have poor marketing and only reach a very small portion of the buyer market. Without proper marketing, the sales price is reduced.
The same is true with real estate agent listed homes. One Realtor may put up a sign, place the listing on the MLS and on Realtor.com, but does little extra to market the home. Another Realtor may do the same as the other Realtor, however the listing may also go onto a company website, personal websites, and many other websites such as Trulia, Craigslist, Google, Yahoo, MSN, NY Times, etc. There will also be specialized relocation marketing, and marketing for the international market.
So although price is usually blamed for a home not selling, this is often not the true culprit, as it can also be the condition of the home, or the marketing of the home.
If you happen to have a home that has not sold, do not despair. Instead interview several Realtors and ask them lots of questions on how they would market your home. Ask for their recommendations on how to put your home in showing condition rather than living condition, and work with them on properly pricing your home to result in a sale.
Hire the Realtor that can answer your questions, back up what they say with facts and statistics and you should always insist on an easy to cancel listing agreement. If the Realtor is confident in their abilities, they should be confident enough to allow you out of the listing agreement with little or no cost should they not do what they promised.
In the Tampa area there are over 1,300 homes selling each month. Yes your home can be one of them.
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