There are dozens of reasons why a house may not sell in a hot market. Knowing what to do to improve your odds of a sale can make it easier.
Selling your home is often a time consuming and stressful process. Sometimes though, no matter how hard we try, our house just won’t sell, even in a hot market. There are a ton of different factors that can contribute to whether or not your home will sell regardless of how strong the real estate market is and it helps to know the options and strategies you have to help your home sell.
Whether you’re selling your home to downsize, you’ve inherited a property or you just want to move, there are several reasons why you may not be attracting prospective buyers even in a hot market.
We’ll cover some tips for helping sell your home as well as other options you have to sell your home besides the traditional real estate market.
Reasons Your House Isn’t Selling
There are a few reasons why your home isn’t selling that could be the culprit for your specific situation.
Your Listing Price is Wrong
The asking price of your home is almost always the first thing to look at and the first thing that potential buyers consider. There are essentially two ways that your asking price can go, too high or too low. Both show signs that will drive potential buyers away from your property and on to something else.
Pricing your house too high will keep potential buyers from being interested because your home is not comparable to others around it. It’s important to remember that in a buyers market you have to be strategic about your pricing in order to attract prospective buyers. Browse local listings and consult with a real estate agent to try and make sure you price your home correctly and consider a price reduction if your asking price is too high.
Pricing your home too low is just as detrimental to a potential sale as pricing too high. A home with a low price is a signal to potential buyers that there may be something wrong with the property. If you’re trying to sell quickly, lowering your asking price can actually make it harder to sell your home. It is always a good idea to ask market value for your home when trying to sell the traditional way.
You Have Poor Curb Appeal
First impressions do a lot for trying to sell your home. If your yard is in disrepair and the front of your home is not in great shape, then you’ll likely be driving away potential buyers before they even take a look at your home. There’s a lot that goes into having great curb appeal and if your home is lacking then you’ll want to try to make some improvements to get people interested in your home.
There are a lot of simple ways to improve your curb appeal. Starting with making sure your for sale sign is clear and visible so that potential home buyers know that your home is on the market.
Next it is a good idea to make sure your yard, lawn, and any hedges or plants are in great shape. Many buyers will think that a well manicured lawn is a sign of a home that’s in great shape, improving the likelihood of getting your home sold.
General maintenance of your home is another good idea. Painting the exterior, cleaning the roof and gutter, and repair any noticeable damage will all work wonders to try and help make sure your house sells.
You’re Listing It Wrong
How you list your house is another key component in selling your home in today’s hot market. There are several components to a house listing that need to be taken into account so that your house is represented accurately.
You’ll likely rely on a real estate agent to handle your listing, but the wrong agent can ruin your listing so always make sure to stay involved in the process. Finding the right buyers is all about how your home is listed and where.
Appropriately descriptive listings are the ones that are most likely to draw in the right kinds of buyers. In a seller’s market this is a bit easier, but when it’s a buyers market you have to be even more careful how you list. Real estate agents are typically in charge of the marketing efforts for your home, but there are specialty websites that can help you list your home yourself if you choose to do so.
Your listing photos are an important part of the process as well. If people can’t see what they might be getting into, chances are they won’t even show up to the open house. While open houses are where you get your offers, your listing is what gets potential buyers interested in the first place.
Consider having a professional photographer take professional photos of your home with good lighting and with everything clean and in good shape. Professional listing photos will help show your home in the best light. You can highlight specific features of the home that might be attractive to buyers.
Your Home’s Staging is Off
When it comes to selling your home most homeowners won’t empty the home out before putting it on the market. However the way the home looks on the inside is important for buyers to get a sense of what the home could be for them if they bought it.
Making a home look desirable is all about the staging. When buyers are house hunting they want to know the house they are buying has everything they want in a home, but even if your home has great features, you have to show them off in the right way.
If you’re not sure how to place the furniture, what to leave and what to take away, whether to have family photos in your home or just how to show off the different parts of your home, then hiring a professional stager is the way to go.
Options For Selling Your Home
If you’ve tried all of the topics we’ve listed and your home still won’t sell despite a strong housing market, then it may be time to look at other options that are available. Traditional home sales involve hiring a real estate agent, paying closing costs and finding a buyer from your local market.
Even under the best circumstances this can take a long time and if you’re trying to speed up your home sale, you may not have time to wait for the right buyer.
Selling Your Home Yourself
If you’re not interested in dealing with real estate agents, you might try selling your home yourself. By doing market research and getting a better understanding of home sales in your local market, you can attempt to list your house yourself as a for sale by owner.
Today’s market can be tricky but if you have some experience selling homes, then you may be able to get the results you’re looking for without going through a real estate agent.
Talk With a Home Buying Company
Many sellers still think that the only way to make money on their home is to sell it on the open market and wait for the right buyer. The truth is, if you’re looking for a quick sale, then your odds go down with every new listing that pops up. In a high demand market this can mean your home will sit for months without any real interest.
If you’re interested in selling your home quickly for a fair price, then you might want to consider a local home buyer instead. Your local home buyer will not only offer you a fair price, but you can skip all the closing costs and red tape that most sellers have to deal with. You may even be able to get more money than you thought for your home all without having to deal with any extra hassle.
Your local home buyers will even buy your home without those costly cosmetic updates. Even if your home is a fixer upper that’s in rough shape, you can still get a fair offer on your home and get it sold in a fraction of the time it takes to sell it the traditional way.
The current market is difficult to navigate and today’s buyers are more picky than ever, particularly if you live in an area with low inventory. Opting to sell your home to a home buyer is the smart choice to sell your home fast and get the money you deserve.
Final Thoughts
There are dozens of reasons why a house may not sell in a hot market. Knowing what to do to improve your odds of a sale can make it easier. Having the right list price, hiring real estate agents, and knowing the value of staging and landscaping are all important parts of selling your home.
Sometimes though, the fastest way to sell your home is to go outside the local market and use a home buyer instead. Hopefully we’ve given you enough information to make the right decision for your unique situation. No one should have to sit on a home that won’t sell when there are other options out there.