Reasons Why Homes Don't Sell and Sit On The Market

Is your home listing not selling? Here are common reasons why homes don't sell and sit on the market.

It’s Priced Too High

Homes should be priced in-line and competitively with other, similar homes in the neighborhood and surrounding area. It’s important to remember buyers are comparing your home to other houses on the market. If you’re not getting offers on your listing, one possible reason is that buyers feel like the asking price is too high and that they’re not getting enough value for the home.

Bad Photos

Buyers (and their realtors) look for listings online, so it’s crucial that the pictures are exceptional in order to stand out, attract attention, and make buyers want to visit the home. Bad photos can easily get a house skipped over.

Furthermore, since homebuyers and real estate agents are often scrolling through listings quickly, it’s important to put the best photos FIRST.

Home Shows Poorly

First impressions are everything during a home showing. As soon as a buyer walks into a house, it’s how the house makes them feel that matters most. (Most people buy based on emotion, and use reasoning and facts to affirm those emotions.)

While good staging can have a major impact in selling a home in that it helps buyers envision themselves in it, bad staging can distract buyers from the positive things about a home and prevent it from getting sold.

Another big distraction is clutter around the house. We’ve seen it time and time again during showings with our buyers - when a home is cluttered and messy, they aren’t looking at the house and its features. All the stuff just gets in the way.

Repairs Are Needed

Whether minor or major, needed repairs are another reason why a home may not sell. Again, buyers are purchasing what is a new home to them, and it’s likely to be the largest purchase of their lives. Many homebuyers don’t want to deal with the hassle and additional expense of repairs. Also, cosmetic issues (like holes in the walls from pictures, areas needing touch up paint, crooked cabinets, etc., just to name a few) can leave a negative impression on buyers during showings.

Poor Lighting Inside The Home

These days almost every homebuyer is looking for bright spaces with plenty of natural light. If a home feels dark, it leaves a negative impression.

It’s important to make the home’s interior as bright and airy as possible for each showing. It’s a good idea to turn on all the lights and open up all the blinds prior to showings. A fact that surprises me is that when we tour homes with our buyer clients, most times the buyers neglect to turn on any lights as they walk the home. I always make it a point to turn on all the lights and open the blinds for them because it makes a dramatic difference on how the house looks and feels.

Showing Access Is Limited and Buyers Can’t View The Property

Logistical issues that prevent buyers from being able to see the home will also keep it from getting sold. If the seller doesn’t approve showing requests and buyers can’t actually visit and see the home, of course it’s not going to sell. If you’re listing your home for sale, the best practice is to have a plan that allows buyers easy access to view the home at their convenience. More showings means more buyers seeing the house, which means more opportunities to get the house sold.