So, you let your home sit on the market for half a year and it didn’t sell. If you had been hoping to cover a financial need by selling the house, you may be frustrated; you may be wondering why your home didn’t sell. If you are in this situation, you are not alone.
Each year, numerous people go through a similar situation. If you are not getting good offers on your home, we suggest that you make a few adjustments. To make these adjustments, you should first discover whether you are doing a few key things wrong. Let’s talk about 5 of those common mistakes that could be keeping your house from getting reasonable offers.
1) Your listing photos are poor quality
Remember, you have only one chance to make a great first impression, especially when it comes to looking for good buyers for your house. According to the National Association of Realtors, 82% of buyers use the internet to look for their desired home.
When looking to purchase a home, most buyers look at the photos of the house taken from different angles. If you don’t use professional photos, you will miss the chance to impress potential buyers with the curb appeal of your house, so make sure your photos highlight the most important features of your property. You won’t get a lot of showings if the photos are not appealing.
2) Your agent is not experienced
The selection of a good real estate agent is really important if you want to sell your house fast. Your realtor should have a solid marketing plan for getting as many offers as possible.
Ideally, the agent should have plenty of experience getting results with their marketing efforts; and they should have a solid, detailed plan of action. They should be familiar with the local market trends. Finally, make sure the agent stays in touch with you throughout the process and gives you frequent updates on the progress they are making with the showing and sale of your home.
3) You don’t have good curb appeal
Often, as soon as a buyer pulls into your driveway, they will make an immediate decision on whether they like your house enough to make an offer, or whether they will keeping looking for something better. They will be able to tell you what they like and dislike about your house before even setting foot inside.
So, one reason your home is still on the market is probably because you don’t have great curb appeal. Focus your attention on certain key areas, and creating an inviting environment will be easy for you.
Landscaping is the first most important thing; make sure the landscaping is neat and appealing. The next on the list is the walkway leading towards the front door. What you need to do is wash the sidewalk and repaint the area around the entrance. For curb appeal, the front door carries a lot of importance. Make sure the paint on the door is fresh and the handle is in good working condition.
4) You have cluttered rooms
When buyers enter your house, they see themselves sitting in the chairs or sofas as if they lived there. So, if you have a lot of furniture or personal photos in each room, they may not be able to visualize themselves in the house.
For this reason it’s important to remove the extra photos and furniture. You can put them in a storage unit if you want to. If you don’t have a storage unit, you can buy or rent one. Keep in mind that the money spent on decluttering the house will come back to you with an awesome ROI.
5) You have overpriced your home
Another mistake that may make it harder for you to sell your house fast is the price tag. In fact, price is one of the main reasons why you are not getting as many offers as you should. If the asking price is reasonable, other things like poor curb appeal, inexperienced agents or low quality photos won’t matter as much.
On the other hand, even if your house photos are stunning, your agent is highly experienced and the curb appeal is great, you won’t be able to get reasonable offers unless you have set a reasonable price tag. No one would want to buy a house that is overpriced.
Consider a couple of factors before setting the asking price for your home. Some important factors include your motivation, market trends and recent comparable sales.
Find out about other similar houses and the price they have sold for. This will give you a pretty good idea of the price tag you should set for your house. If the price you have set is too high, you can change it accordingly.
Find out about the current market trends in your area. In a seller’s market, house prices are quite high. On the other hand, if it’s a buyer’s market, the prices will be low as there are a lot of similar houses in the area.
It may not be a good idea to fight the trend. So, if prices are going up, make sure you set the price for your home a bit higher than other houses with similar features in the area. Setting the right price for your home will be easier if you know the market trends.
Lastly, what is it that motivates you more? Is it a quick sale or the maximum price? If you don’t want a quick sale, you don’t need to drop the price. But if you want to get rid of the house as soon as possible, you may consider dropping the asking price. This will almost certainly get you more offers if other things stay the same.
The takeaway
If you are already getting good offers, you don’t need to do anything. However, if you want better offers or a quick sale, make sure you take professional photos, look for a good real estate agent, and make your house look better by removing clutter and other unimportant stuff.
By making these changes, you will be able to get the highest price for your house in a short period of time.