Sometimes even the nicest homes don’t sell!

I’m certain that you’re wondering why your house did not sell. You may consider some of the most common problems I will point out below.

First you have to ask yourself. Am I still committed to selling?

Take a step back and review your decision to sell. Do you still want to move? Although you may feel discouraged, if you still want to or need to sell, make a renewed commitment to do what it takes to market the house effectively.

Next, find out precisely what went wrong. An expired listing usually reflects a problem in one, or more of four major areas: communication, price, condition or marketing.

1. Communication – What were various Buyers, or Realtors saying about price, condition and location? Inattention to a listing can make or break the end results. For example, the day your house was listed it may have been the best deal in the subdivision. But two weeks later perhaps the same floor plan by the same builder in a comparable or better location became available at a comparable or better price. Perhaps you have noticed for yourself that in each subdivision there are X number of builders that build X number of floor plans. When all is said and done, buyers are typically looking for a particular floor plan that fits their life style, end of story. If you do not know why buyers are by-passing your home; it could be costing you thousands of dollars, and many sleepless nights. Perhaps your house has been by-passed 8 or 10 times by buyers who have actually purchased another property. Did they by-pass yours because of price? Was the floor plan simply not a workable floor plan for them? Can you see how lowering the sales price in this particular situation would be of virtually no value to you, therefore giving away your hard-earned money unnecessarily? When you list with me, I will tailor a marketing plan that will help your home make the “A” list with buyers.

2. Price – The most common culprit. Again, market conditions change from day to day depending on available inventory. Pricing your home competitively to homes that are available for purchase is only half of the strategy. The other half is to price your home in competition with the property owners that were recently successful in selling their homes. For example 4 out of every 10 homes listed for sale will not sell during their first term with their first Realtor, two of those will not sell the second time around. Again, there are many, many reasons. Does your real estate agent know what they are? When you list with me you will receive expert advise on how to succeed in selling your home.

3. Condition – A house in move in condition invites a sale, bottom line. Have you fixed the little squeaks and drips, cleaned and painted, uncluttered, brightened up and concentrated on outside curb appeal? Did you know that 65% of the buyer’s decision to purchase occurs within the first 15 seconds, before the buyer even enters the house?

4. Marketing – Believe it or not, the MLS is one of the most powerful tools for marketing your property that has even existed. Do not take it for granted. Yes, there are literally thousands of properties in the local MLS. What your Realtor includes or omits about your home in the MLS can literally make or break the sought out future transaction. I will show you multiple examples of incorrect MLS activity that caused properties to not sell. I can also show you how quickly these same homes sold when a Realtor who knew how to turn the MLS into a true ally was able to list & sell the same homes other Realtors were not able to sell. Are you ready?