"...he
has spoken highly of your
agency... I am not happy with current REALTOR, again the house
is just not being seen by potential buyers. Would you be interested
in talking with me about the house?"
A
real email concerning a home which had been on the market just over 4
months.
1st Myth, My REALTOR
is not showing my house. The
strength of the Multiple Listing Service MLS is the 800 or so REALTORS
having
the ability to show your property. If there are 30 buyers
currently
in the market, then the odds of your listing agent having contact with
one
of the 30 buyers is very small. The number of times the
listing agent
is also the selling agent is rather low.
2nd Myth, The average days a home is on the market
before it is sold is around 60 days, plus or minus.
When the numbers are assembled to determine average days on the market,
the
houses which were not sold are NOT included into the average.
If a
home is on the market with XYZ Realty Company for 5 months and the
owner changes
companies after the listing expires and the new Realty Company sells
the home in
30 days, 30 days is used to figure the "average days on the
market" but
the 150 days is not included into the average.
If you are selling the home on your own (For Sale by Owner, FSBO) a
separate article will cover some suggestions.
Now a few thoughts on what to do when a house has been on the market too long.
First, the housing market is a "comparable" market. Buyers
will look
at your home and judge your home against other homes offering the same
amenities
in a similar setting or neighborhood and evaluate all their
possibilities
in light of the asking price of your home. The system in its
simplest
terms if the house is priced correctly then viewing activity should be
generated
with a number of potential buyers. After enough viewings have
occurred
then an offer should come from a buyer.
If the house is not being shown there are possibly two problems which
you could address.
First the house is over priced and buyers are looking at your house but
other houses which
to them have better value. Second, the outside appeal of your
house is
"turning buyers off" from going into the home. This was the
case in
a home which I sold that had negative appeal from the front yard.
In
this case I was able to persuade a buyer to look and since the home had
recently under gone a great price reduction the home became an
excellent buy with just yard work
correcting the deficiencies and positive equity being realized by the
buyer.
Your REALTOR has the ability using the electronic MLS lock box to
provide
the viewing activity on your home. Additionally you can
request your
REALTOR to ask the reactions from the showing REALTOR which would help
to
determine the course of action which may be appropriate. If
your home is not receiving enough
viewings then look hard at the price and outside appeal. For
correct
pricing your REALTOR can provided a CMA (Comparable Market Analysis)
report which would provide the sold prices of homes in your area and
the
dollar per sq. ft. which those homes have realized. Proper
pricing brings
the buyer in the front door. Even if front yard appeal is
keeping people
away, proper pricing will still bring them in.
If the house is being shown AND no offers are being received, then look
for a problem in the potential buyers not finding value in your home
and possible corrections to the interior may be warranted or a change
in price to more closely approximate the perceived value in the eyes of
the potential buyers.
For additional ideas on
"staging" your home I suggest viewing Listing Tips Fact
Sheet.
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