My House Won't Sell

Time to Find Out Why

If you asked most real estate agents why your house won't sell, I bet a large percentage will immediately say, "Well, you have to lower your price."

This is especially true if they are the listing agent of the property.

Although this may certainly be true, there are may be many other reasons why your property won't sell.

Looking for something else? Just click on one of the photos below, or proceed below the photos for more about why my house won't sell.

10 Mistakes to Avoid when Selling by Owner

How to Get Your Money back You Spent if You Decide to List with a Realtor

Selling a House "As Is"

Selling a Rental Property

Should I Sell or Buy First?

A Extra Bonus Stuff Overview

Sell My House FSBO Home Page

Lets examine some and also some possible solutions. Just knowing why your house won't sell isn't enough unless you take some corrective action. Right?

Patience!

This site is designed for folks that sell by owner. If you are listed with a real estate agent, changes are you are locked into a 3 - 6 month listing.

If your house is not selling, in many cases you don't have a lot of choices but to "stick it out" to the bitter end, unless the real estate agent releases you from the contract.

Patience with your real estate agent when you are listed, is one side of the coin when your house won't sell.

When you are for sale by owner, the tide turns and it's you that has to be patient with yourself.

Here's the problem: You place your property on the market, you have people view the home and no one puts in an offer.

Self doubt creeps in. I've seen for sale by owners ready to throw in the towel after 2 weeks! "Oh dear! My house won't sell!" Think about it.

If you had the best real estate agent in the world, there is no guarantee you will have a sale in two weeks.

It's a matter of staying the course. Keep marketing and showing the property, doing your open houses and wait patiently for the right buyer to arrive.

How long should it take to sell? I don't know. You don't know. A Realtor doesn't know.

Are you getting traffic through the property? Keep on keeping on.

Did you have an Appraisal and price accordingly? Keep on keeping on.

Are you doing Open Houses? Keep on keeping on.

Do you have your home Listed Online? Keep on keeping on.

Do you have highly visible Signage out front and good Open House and Directional Signs? Keep on keeping on.

Is your house and Property Clean, Tidy and in Good Repair? Keep on keeping on.

In other words, the reason your house won't sell, may be just because the right buyer hasn't arrived yet.

Don't give up! Just keep doing what you are doing if you have everything in place.

Sometimes there are no magic bullets. Just patience and grit. OK? Good!

Market Conditions

How are the market conditions in your area? Sometimes when your house is not selling, or more to the point, it's taking a long time, it's just slow real estate times.

Is it buyer's market? There are far more homes for sale than there are qualified, ready to purchase buyers.

Is it a seller's market? There are far more qualified buyers ready to purchase than there are properties available.

Is it a balanced market? The amount of homes for sale are closely matched with the amount of buyers ready to purchase.

Is it a mixed market? Perhaps the properties in the lower price range are selling as fast as the come on the market, but real estate in the mid to upper range are sitting on the market.

Sometimes it's the mid-range that's hot. It also can be the upper priced market.

What can you do? Well, first of all, if your house won't sell, find out and be aware what type of market you are involved with.

Drive around your neighborhood and count how many properties are for sale. Count how many have sold signs on them.

Check your local newspaper, real estate publication and online to see how much competition you have.

Your competition is all the homes that are the same type as yours, in the same type of area, and the same price range.

So if you have a bungalow, in a moderately dense residential area priced at $275,000.

Your list might look something like this:

• single family dwellings

• In the suburbs

• Priced between $250,000 - $300,000.

Find out how many properties have sold that are similar to yours, in the past 1 - 3 months. How? Asking your local Realtor is one way. Hey they will tell you just about anything you want, if they think they may get a listing later.

Like I said before, you can also drive some neighborhoods similar to yours on a regular basis and count the sold signs.

If you establish the type of market, you than can see if it is just the conditions, or you may need to make a few changes.

Price too High?

Yes, if your house won't sell, it could be the price.

Ask yourself these questions:

• Did I have an appraisal done and price accordingly?

• Has the market changed for the better or the worse since the appraisal?

If you answered yes to the first question and no to the second, just keep marketing. Your price is OK.

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Side Note: Do I really need an appraisal Doug? Go to Why a Certified Appraisal for some reasons why.

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If you didn't establish your price using a certified appraiser or the market has changed, then take another look at your asking price.

The Unique Property

The ad reads: One of a Kind! Oh, oh.

Why your house is not selling may be because it's a unique property. It may not conform to the average person. This makes finding a buyer much more difficult. These properties as a whole, take longer to sell.

They may be wonderful houses and property, but they are only suited for a narrow niche of buyers.

Will the house sell? Certainly. You might have to be a bit more patient, that's all.

The good news? When you find that person(s) looking for that type of unique property, you will have a very captive buyer!

Not Ready to Sell

When you are on the market, it's important that the property looks it's best for every showing.

If the beds aren't made, dishes are piled up in the sink and "Rover" just deposited a "present" on the kitchen floor, you may just chase some potential buyers away.

"Well, if they can't see past that, there is something wrong with them!"

Sorry, a lot of people Can't see past many things. People buy houses that feel good and feel like home to them.

If your dwelling is always neat, tidy and in good repair, you can cross this reason off. If it's not, make any improvements necessary and you might just be holding a signed purchase and sales contract in your hand from your next showing.

Marketing

If your house won't sell, is it because you are keeping it a secret?

Exposure! Exposure! Exposure! You may need to promote your property using every feasible avenue available to you.

• The large sign out front.

• The directional signs leading buyers to your property.

• Online exposure. *** See Below

• Some Newspaper Ads

• Flyers

• Bulletin boards.

• Open houses.

It's like a treasure hunt. You have a great well priced property for sale and you are looking for that buyer. Unless your buyers know what you have, they can't make a purchase.

If you aren't marketing your house to the maximum, it may just be why your house won't sell!

So in closing, review the reasons above why your house won't sell, discard the ones that don't concern you, and look at improving those areas that you feel where you might be lacking.

If you have been using this website's step by step process, then I'm betting it's #1 - Patience! Stick with it and it won't be long before you make that sale!

***Internet Exposure

Because I believe that Internet Exposure is so important today, you might want to check out Internet Options.

If you want to find out how I select various resources for the for sale by owner, check out this page: The Selection Process.

For More Information about Good Extra Stuff

Just check out those thumbnail photos near the top of this page.

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