Many aspects can influence your selling experience – from market trends to the choice of your shower curtain, you will be faced with various details along the way. If your home has been sitting on the market for longer than expected, take another look at your selling plan and make sure any specific areas are not being neglected. Below, we’ve included a few key reasons houses don’t sell that seem to be common for a prolonged selling period.
Is your property being marketed poorly?
If you only have a few pictures online to showcase your property, have low-quality images that look grainy, only have your property listed on a few websites or find that not many showings are being scheduled – the answer is yes. A few ways to remedy this would be to make sure that you or your Real Estate Representative is putting in that extra effort to bring attention to your listing and grab potential buyers by using virtual tours, well-lit images, social media postings and much more. If you are unsure what is being done to market your property, now is the time to get involved.
Does a Home have to be Decluttered?
If you have clutter in most rooms, closets that are overflowing, a basement full of storage boxes or a backyard with leftover building materials hanging around – the answer to this question is going to be yes. Take the time to de-clutter, rearrange furniture and organize the interior and the exterior of your home in order to make a difference in how people view your home. Other interruptions to note that could be hindering the presentation of your home could be such things as following a potential buyer throughout the house while they tour and making them feel unwelcome or leaving your non-stranger friendly dog at home during showings and having them feel intimidated. Potential buyers need an opportunity to visualize themselves living in your home and it will be easiest for them to do this when they aren’t focused on your personal items or have distractions.
Take Feedback from Viewers Onboard
If you have a shared driveway, a neighbour that hoards cars on their lawn or a power line in your backyard, then you may have a characteristic that some will categorize as negative. These are more often than not, elements around or on your property that you cannot just simply change. It is important to keep that information in mind when you’re selling and to make sure that you are receiving adequate feedback from all showings so that you’re aware of what potential buyers are expressing in regards to your home. If items being mentioned in the feedback are not something that you can fix or if it would not be cost-efficient to do so then it might be time to take another look at your pricing strategy. Any home, in any location, will sell if the price is right. If the feedback is mentioning items that you can fix, however, such as a closet door hanging off its hinge, it would be a good idea to look more earnestly into rectifying such items to help buyers become more serious about considering your home.
Are You Experiencing Market Challenges?
If your neighbourhood is saturated with other homeowners selling or you are listing your property over the Christmas Holidays, you may be doing yourself a disservice when it comes to selling. The current market climate and trends play an incredibly large role in the ease of your selling experience. An oversaturated housing market for the area or poorly timed selling attempt may greatly extend the time your house is on the market and therefore, the amount of time it takes to sell. This is when hiring a professional Real Estate Agent will benefit you the most as a seasoned agent will be able to provide you with the groundwork for the correct pricing and timing strategies based on what the market trend is doing.
If you would like to learn more tips and information about how to market your property or more reasons houses don’t sell – call us at (613) 288-2455, email us here, or book a sellers appointment to take the first step.