Help - Why won't my house sell

[jaybirdsmommy]

We have been trying to sell our house for about 5 months now. We aren't even getting showings (maybe once a week). I've done everything my realtor has suggested, but nothing has helped. I'm open to any and all suggestions at this point.

Specs: app 1800 sqf with another 300 sqf bonus space not included in that number. 4 beds, 2 baths, 0.75 acres lot, built app 1975, single story, no pool. Asking 217900, which is in line with other comps from the neighborhood if not on the low end. According to realtor.com the last time I looked we were actually in the lowest 5 listings price wise for similar size and # of bed/bathrooms.

Advantages: pretty neighborhood with a good mix of ages among the neighbors, walking distance to several excellent schools including the middle school and junior high, private backyard fenced on 3.5 sides, decent sized bedrooms, updated (not the latest and greatest but the appliances are new, main floors are new, roof is 7 years old, furnace/ac are 5 years old, both bathrooms have been redone since we have lived there).

Disadvantages: older neighborhood not on the "hot" side of town, the yard is a funny shape and slopes so no flat play area. No gigantic master suite, just a large master bedroom with a small attached bath. Honestly, I can't think of anything else. The only feedback we've gotten are the lack of play area in the yard (my kids played there for years, not sure where that is coming from but whatever, I can't change it) and that the laminate floors are too cold for little kids to play on.

We have had 2 open houses, no one showed up for the last one.

I don't know what else to do. We have already moved out and the house is empty (seems to be the preferred way to show houses here since there is a lot of new construction to compete with), the yard is clean, mowed, new flowers in the pots, bushes trimmed, etc. I repainted my sons funny colored room a neutral color before the last open house, all the other rooms were already neutrals.

I am going to get after my realtor to take new pictures. The ones on the listing now were taken while we still lived there and several of them aren't good. Any other ideas?

 

[msjprincess]

$217K for an 18,000 sf house? Or is it supposed to be 1,800?

 

[mousefanmichelle]

Is your realtor promoting your house? Websites, facebook? It might not be your house so much as it's your realtor.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

We have been trying to sell our house for about 5 months now. We aren't even getting showings (maybe once a week). I've done everything my realtor has suggested, but nothing has helped. I'm open to any and all suggestions at this point.

Specs: app 18,000 sqf with another 300 sqf bonus space not included in that number. 4 beds, 2 baths, 0.75 acres lot, built app 1975, single story, no pool. Asking 217900, which is in line with other comps from the neighborhood if not on the low end. According to realtor dot com the last time I looked we were actually in the lowest 5 listings price wise for similar size and # of bed/bathrooms.

Advantages: pretty neighborhood with a good mix of ages among the neighbors, walking distance to several excellent schools including the middle school and junior high, private backyard fenced on 3.5 sides, decent sized bedrooms, updated (not the latest and greatest but the appliances are new, main floors are new, roof is 7 years old, furnace/ac are 5 years old, both bathrooms have been redone since we have lived there).

Disadvantages: older neighborhood not on the "hot" side of town, the yard is a funny shape and slopes so no flat play area. No gigantic master suite, just a large master bedroom with a small attached bath. Honestly, I can't think of anything else. The only feedback we've gotten are the lack of play area in the yard (my kids played there for years, not sure where that is coming from but whatever, I can't change it) and that the laminate floors are too cold for little kids to play on.

We have had 2 open houses, no one showed up for the last one.

I don't know what else to do. We have already moved out and the house is empty (seems to be the preferred way to show houses here since there is a lot of new construction to compete with), the yard is clean, mowed, new flowers in the pots, bushes trimmed, etc. I repainted my sons funny colored room a neutral color before the last open house, all the other rooms were already neutrals.

I am going to get after my realtor to take new pictures. The ones on the listing now were taken while we still lived there and several of them aren't good. Any other ideas?

Get new pics for sure and I would drop the price to see if that helps.

 

[BadgerGirl84]

Unfortunately, the answer is obvious. Lower the price.

 

[richmo]

Sometimes its luck of the draw...a house can be sitting with little or no interest for weeks, even months, then there's suddenly a bunch of activity.

Since so much research is done online now, it is important that you have good pictures. Definitely replace them and it wouldn't hurt to do a price drop...it doesn't have to be much, but you'll get listed with recent price drops, changes, etc and back at the top of some lists.

Finally, as Michelle before me mentioned, could the problem be with your realtor? What kind of 'contract' do you have with them? In many cases people will switch after 6 months if nothing is going on. I'd definitely consider a change...

 

[jaybirdsmommy]

$217K for an 18,000 sf house? Or is it supposed to be 1,800?

Good catch, fixed it

 

[cabanafrau]

In each instance of people we know putting their house up for sale in the past year and not getting a sale within the first two weeks everything changed when they changed realtors. That includes friends of ours who just closed on a second home they owned for a while that was on a busy street and had virtually no yard. They listed with the top agent in their area and crickets. They took it off the market for several months and relisted with a new agent. I think she said they had it on the market 9 days, had tons of traffic at the open house and wound up with two competing bids. The property was on the smaller side for the "top agent" & she was frustrated when it didn't immediately sell -- and became irritable because it was on a busy road with her sign out front for over 60 days with no sold sign. I believe she requested to terminate the contract early because she didn't like the hit to her reputation.

 

[jaybirdsmommy]

Unfortunately, the answer is obvious. Lower the price.

I know, I just hate too. We've already dropped it 7000 and I'm afraid if we get too much lower than the comps people will start wondering what's wrong with it.

We are already the 5th lowest price for similar stats in our entire zipcode. Out of the 4 lower prices, there's only one with a similar sized yard and similarly nice neighborhood. The others are postage stamps in areas with high percentages of student rentals around them.

 

[lorimay]

The new "thing" is to have professional pictures taken of the inside and outside.
When we sold 2 years ago, I had a few people tell me the pictures didn't do the house justice and that they almost didn't come to see it.
I told my realtor and she was not happy that people thought her pics weren't good, but I kinda agreed with them after I looked back.
We got lucky and sold in a few days, but the market was really hot at the time.

Good Luck!

 

[pate59]

Look into other realtors after your commitment is over with the current one your have.
I am not familiar with the area you live but the right realtor makes all the difference. They need to be aggressive but also honest with you.
Price reduction ? Maybe. Being a realtor is all about selling and (future) customer service. Yes, bringing the sell price down is also bringing their commission down.
But, once you use a good one, you may use them again and also recommend them to others.

 

[SC Minnie]

I agree with others, your realtor may be the problem. They have have already moved on from your house. When is your contract up? I would start shopping for other realtors and interview them on how they are going to sell your house. When your contract is up pull the trigger.

 

[scrapquitler]

We have been trying to sell our house for about 5 months now. We aren't even getting showings (maybe once a week). I've done everything my realtor has suggested, but nothing has helped. I'm open to any and all suggestions at this point.

Specs: app 1800 sqf with another 300 sqf bonus space not included in that number. 4 beds, 2 baths, 0.75 acres lot, built app 1975, single story, no pool. Asking 217900, which is in line with other comps from the neighborhood if not on the low end. According to realtor dot com the last time I looked we were actually in the lowest 5 listings price wise for similar size and # of bed/bathrooms.

Advantages: pretty neighborhood with a good mix of ages among the neighbors, walking distance to several excellent schools including the middle school and junior high, private backyard fenced on 3.5 sides, decent sized bedrooms, updated (not the latest and greatest but the appliances are new, main floors are new, roof is 7 years old, furnace/ac are 5 years old, both bathrooms have been redone since we have lived there).

Disadvantages: older neighborhood not on the "hot" side of town, the yard is a funny shape and slopes so no flat play area. No gigantic master suite, just a large master bedroom with a small attached bath. Honestly, I can't think of anything else. The only feedback we've gotten are the lack of play area in the yard (my kids played there for years, not sure where that is coming from but whatever, I can't change it) and that the laminate floors are too cold for little kids to play on.

We have had 2 open houses, no one showed up for the last one.

I don't know what else to do. We have already moved out and the house is empty (seems to be the preferred way to show houses here since there is a lot of new construction to compete with), the yard is clean, mowed, new flowers in the pots, bushes trimmed, etc. I repainted my sons funny colored room a neutral color before the last open house, all the other rooms were already neutrals.

I am going to get after my realtor to take new pictures. The ones on the listing now were taken while we still lived there and several of them aren't good. Any other ideas?

If a house doesn't sell, it's priced too high.

 

[HeatherC]

I'm sorry you are having a heard time selling. I'm not sure what state you are in, but one idea might be to have your realtor ( or a new one if your contract is almost up), market to people a little further away.

As an example, we are in Central Massachusetts. When we sold our other home we had the realtor market it to people that were closer to Boston and looking for more square footage at a lower price. By doing this, we got a ton of people interested when they came across the house and it was marketed as being in a great commuter spot, adjacent to multiple highways, good schools, etc.. It went on realtor.com on a Friday morning and before the for sale sign went up in the yard we had multiple offers.

Maybe if there is something about your location that you can capitalize on, it may attract a different group of buyers and drum up more business. Is it walking distance to town, easy commuter access, schools good, cost less than to rent, etc.. The realtor should be pointing these things out through their marketing.

And I think taking tons of pictures that shows it in its best light would probably also help. Make sure they are showing more than one or two pictures on realtor.com too. Buyers want to see lots of pictures.

Also, if the pictures were taken in early spring with snow on the ground, it may look better in the fall with the leaves turning and pumpkins and mums out front. (Just an example). Little things like that can make a huge difference.


Best of luck to you!,

 

[Annadesu]

It may also be the time of year, right now... Fall/Winter isn't exactly prime "house buying" months. Maybe once it starts getting warmer again, you'll get more attention. Have you thought about renting the house out on a monthly contract until it sells? I know it's not ideal, but if you can't afford two mortgages it may be an option.

 

[gillep]

I would also suspect an issue with your agent and possibly time of year. Has your agent done any exclusive showings to the other agents in his/her office or agency? Is your house staged? Are your pictures professional shots with the 'good angles' of your house and yard? I have sold 2 houses in different states and our agents marketed our houses like crazy, we had tons of foot traffic from open houses as well as 'agency exclusive' showings and private showings. Our first house we had staged and professional pictures taken, and the second one we sold empty, with professional photos, but with the top realtor in that area, both of our houses were priced aggressively (the second I thought was way too high) but both sold easily at our asking price.

 

[morgan98]

First off, it is price. It is very important when you first list to find a realtor that is reasonable with comps and tells you the truth about the value of your home. Having a competent realtor with a strong reputation is priceless. Selling you home is not a job to give to a friend of a friend, unless they are the best in the business. Our realtor told us so many people listen to advice and want to list it for a higher price anyway. Staging and good pictures do make a difference as does time of the year.

We bought a new home almost three years ago and closed on it at the end of December. We spoke to our realtor who recommended that we wait until after the new year to list and that she would call us after the holidays passed and she felt traffic was increasing. She called us on January 19th, we listed on the 20th and had two offers by the 22nd.

It also seems that once a house is priced too high and you have to keep dropping the price, the house seems almost "tainted." In this case, I have seen people take it off the market for a cooling off period and relist with a different realtor at the correct price and sell in a short timeframe.

 

[jaybirdsmommy]

I would also suspect an issue with your agent and possibly time of year. Has your agent done any exclusive showings to the other agents in his/her office or agency? Is your house staged? Are your pictures professional shots with the 'good angles' of your house and yard? I have sold 2 houses in different states and our agents marketed our houses like crazy, we had tons of foot traffic from open houses as well as 'agency exclusive' showings and private showings. Our first house we had staged and professional pictures taken, and the second one we sold empty, with professional photos, but with the top realtor in that area, both of our houses were priced aggressively (the second I thought was way too high) but both sold easily at our asking price.

I'm starting to wonder about my agent. I need to check to see if we have a contract. I don't remember signing anything but I'm sure I did. The house is not staged, it's empty. There seems to be a preference in this market for empty houses, not sure why.

The pictures are awful, I just looked at them again and called her to remind her that I want them redone. She "forgot" that we had discussed it earlier. There is one picture in the group that isn't even our house, 1 picture of a storage area where we were putting stuff while packing, some older pictures that I'm not even sure how she got, several pictures of her McDonalds cup that she brought with her that day. I had forgotten just how bad they were.

She has done 2 open houses and 2 "Caravans" for other realtors. The caravans seem to do well, one open house had a few people come and the other had no one.

 

[wgeo]

What jumped out at me was the phrase "not on the hot side of town". If you're location isn't as desired right now, it doesn't matter if the neighbor is "nice", you are going to have to do something with the price to get people to take the "less desired" side of town.

Also - I concur with everyone - check out the relationship with the realtor. If your house has been on the market and you've only had 2 open houses your realtor isn't trying hard enough. AND good pictures are an absolute must, absolute.

 

[mousehockey37]

I'm starting to wonder about my agent. I need to check to see if we have a contract. I don't remember signing anything but I'm sure I did. The house is not staged, it's empty. There seems to be a preference in this market for empty houses, not sure why.

The pictures are awful, I just looked at them again and called her to remind her that I want them redone. She "forgot" that we had discussed it earlier. There is one picture in the group that isn't even our house, 1 picture of a storage area where we were putting stuff while packing, some older pictures that I'm not even sure how she got, several pictures of her McDonalds cup that she brought with her that day. I had forgotten just how bad they were.

She has done 2 open houses and 2 "Caravans" for other realtors. The caravans seem to do well, one open house had a few people come and the other had no one.

Sounds like you need to do some leg work on your own. Go back and take your own pictures. This realtor is a dud for you, time to get a new one. Without knowing your exact whereabouts, asking price is just a number here. It may be in the bottom 5, but if the pictures back up why it's in the bottom 5, you won't see any interest.

Think of your listing as a house resume for potential new bosses. If it stinks, the boss is going to throw your resume in the trash and never look at it again. If you make it appealing, it's going to stick in someone's mind.