“Annoyed, Disappointed, Concerned, Upset, or Infuriated”
Reasons Why Your Home Has Not Sold!
Establishing Value
The truth is it doesn't really matter how much money you think your home is worth.
I paid this $............for my home and put this into $.............my home , so it is worth$...........Wrong Answer.
It doesn't matter what your agent thinks or ten other agents just like her. The person whose opinion matters is the buyer who makes an offer. Pricing homes is part art and part science. It involves comparing similar properties, in similar areas, making adjustments for the differences among them, tracking market activity and taking stock of present inventory, all in an attempt to come up with a range of value, an educated opinion. This method is the same way an appraiser evaluates a home. And no two appraisals are ever exactly the same; however, they are generally close to each other. In other words, there is no certain way to put a price tag on your home. It's only an educatted guess and the market will dictate the price.
Protect Yourself
The question is how much money have those expired listings cost the sellers? How much money will you be out if your house does not sell for a year? The financial loss often exceeds the extra mortgage payments paid and goes beyond the uncompensated hassle factor of trying to keep a home spotless during showings. It affects the value that a buyer ultimately chooses to pay because it's not a fresh listing anymore. It's now stale, dated, a market-worn home that was overpriced for too long. Don't let it happen to you. Don't be that seller of an expired listing.
Your home doesn't "show" well
Your home is competing against shiny new houses in those pristine subdivisions out in the suburbs with their attractive prices, incentives and community amenities. If the difference between your 20 year old home and New Construction is $20,000., the buyer will most likely go for the newer.
Face it: Even the best old house needs a little makeover if it hopes to attract a qualified buyer. Dated Kitchen or Baths even though they are nice and in good shape the buyer thinks of how much will it cost to update.
The good news is most of the work will be cosmetic and relatively inexpensive: a new coat of paint, a few attractive window boxes, a thorough cleaning of floors and carpets. The place may look good enough to reconsider.
A good real estate agent can advise you on where your time and money are best spent. Your Real Estate agent needs to be able to tell you the Truth!
Price and condition are two things that the seller can do something about. "I always give people my 'honest opinion of what needs to be done on the list. I think paint is probably a seller's best friend because it makes things smell fresh and look fresh. If it's time to paint, it's time to paint. It's the best return on investment." I look at the property through the buyers eyes. I know what buyers like and dislike when looking at properties.
Location, Location, Location
Nothing has a greater impact on your home's value than its location. It all depends on what your buyer is looking for; Easy Commute, Private Setting, Family Neighborhood, typically it is harder to sell a home that is on a double yellow lined street. AKA more traffic busier location. It might even jump thousands in value just two streets over in the next school district.
The point is location rules in real estate.
If your home's location is less than desirable, your options are somewhat limited. A good real estate agent will do his best to help you accentuate the positive and eliminate the negative of your circumstances, say by using foliage to screen off offensive adjoining properties or dampen traffic noise.
The best way to compensate for a poor location is to reduce your asking price or offer attractive incentives such as seller financing or credit towards closing costs.
You have a lousy listing agent
Yes, they exist: Real estate agents, who mislead, misfire and misbehave.
Their bad advice can cost you plenty in time, money and the sheer hassle of keeping the place show-ready 24/7.
The agent from you know where, will allow you to overprice your home (“Here's what I can get for you if you list with me!"), not marketing it properly, fail to screen for qualified buyers, be unresponsive to interest from other agents (if they sell their own listing, they don't have to split the commission) or agents that do not respond quickly enough to calls on the property. Agents that keep you totally in the dark throughout the process. You need to know what is happening on a weekly basis, are you getting that? Are they following up with agents that have buyers somewhat interested?
What's more, if your agent is abrasive, arrogant or otherwise difficult to work with, other agents may not want the hassle of showing any of their listings to prospective buyers. Take notice to your agents personality, do they know everything about everything? Do they listen when you talk? Are they approachable?
Agents Specialize in Expired Listings
There are agents in my office who base their real estate practice on calling sellers of expired listings and relisting them at market value. They are able to be real with the sellers about price, how well the property will show, and in discussing if the location will have any effect on the salability. I specialize in these listings myself and find it very rewarding to help people Reach their Goals in a realistic manor.
Market Condition or Competition
We've all heard the terms "buyer's market" and "seller's market." In real estate, markets conditions are affected by any number of external forces, some of them predictable some of them unpredictable The local economy, interest rates, public optimism or negativity).
In a "hot" or seller's market, homes go fast. Number of listed homes may be low, meaning less competition for you. Chances are better that you will get your asking price in a hot market; in fact, it is not uncommon to even be offered more than your listing price.
But in a "flat," "cold" or buyer's market, sales slow to a trickle, inventories grow and buyers can find bargains, especially when they know the seller is motivated (i.e., paying on two mortgages).
If you're trying to sell in a flat market, you're not only competing against all that vacant new construction, but against rentals as well. In this case, be prepared to settle for less than top dollar, or wait to sell until the pendulum swings once again in your favor.
You have ineffective marketing
Gone are the days when an agent could simply place your listing with the local Multiple Listing Service, hold a few open houses and wait for another agent to bring forth a buyer.
Today's top performers launch a multilevel marketing plan that includes Virtual Tours of property, Placing home on Brokers Tours and e-mail campaigns, Weekend Open Houses, Feature Sheets, and Brochure Box on property.
Computers and the Internet also have changed the face of real estate. According to the National Association of Realtors, today more than two-thirds of all home buyers use the Internet for house hunting. The best real estate agents are computer-savvy. They have your listing in color on their laptops to show clients and communicate frequently via e-mail, or text messaging. Today’s buyer wants instant response to their questions, especially those out-of-town buyers.
Therefore if your real estate agent is not listing your home on multiple websites you may not be getting the exposure necessary to find a buyer. National sites, Local sites, Home sites, and the MLS. Go online and see how many different websites a potential buyer may click away and find your home.
"There are those who just put the listing in the multiple and pray it will sell and those that put a lot of effort into marketing their listings," Manually posting on each site. "Unfortunately, with this weird system of compensation we have, they all get paid the same, whether they know nothing or have many years of experience."
