Some honest reasons why your house isn’t selling

by Shawn Lackie

In this day and age, when it seems not much is moving in the Real Estate world, maybe it’s time for an introspective look at why that is.

Everybody starts out with the best of intentions. Like Mike Tyson said “Everyone has a plan, until they get punched in the face.” That may be a little harsh but you get the drift. A good number of realtors start out with a healthy, well-researched state of the market. That way, when they discuss listing price with the prospective seller, they are dealing from a position of knowledge.

I always say, you are either ON the market or IN the market. I’ll touch on that later. At any rate, any number of reasons crop up which impede the sale of your home.

The biggest one would be, you are way overpriced. Many sellers look at what their neighbours got when they sold their home two, three or maybe four years ago. This is the worst thing you can do, especially, when the market takes a tumble and flat-lines, like it has in the last year.

The bottom line is just that, the bottom line. Pretty much anything will sell, if it is priced right. By that, I mean up to date and current pricing; not from years ago. You can’t compare an apple to an orange and expect similar results. Many sellers get sucked into listing their home with a given agent because they were promised the world.

I heard of one person recently, who said, they were told they could get 950K for their modest bungalow. That’s just crazy. Take a look around the Scugog area and, for the most part, you’ll see older bungalows listed in the $699-$799 range, with a few exceptions, due to super upgrades or stubborn sellers. So the property sits on the market for months with no action. Eventually, the seller gets frustrated and fires the realtor. At THAT point, they may or may not realize they have been over priced and drop their ask accordingly.

It might help but by that time, the property may be stigmatized. I can’t count the number of times I have been asked what’s wrong with a certain listing. Many times, it’s just over-priced.

One of the other reasons sellers encounter difficulty is, they found an agent who will cut their commission rate, while promising the moon. They generally get what they pay for, which is to say, not much.

If a seller wants to prepare a home for sale, they may take the pictures themselves and fail to de-clutter, then the place shows awfully which doesn’t help their cause. In contrast, if you remove a lot of the stuff and have a sparser looking listing, it helps the buyer envision what their furniture would look like there. That helps a lot.

In this light, here are some additional ideas:

You may want to paint the home to give it a fresh look. Especially if you have some rooms with wild colours. Go plain and simple there.

Replace any fixtures which may be outdated. This really helps.

If you have pets, you will need to ensure there aren’t pet smells around the place. There is nothing worse than an old litter box to ruin the vibe. I showed a home many years ago and as we were walking through the dimly lit living room I stepped in a large pile of doggy doo. Needless to say my clients were not impressed. 

You need to depersonalize the place. For a number of reasons, including safety concerns, remove as many family pictures as possible. Make the place as neutral as you can. Clean up!

The most important thing you can do is exercise common sense. Anyone can be ON the market – simply having your home listed for sale. It’s much better to be IN the market, where you stand a very good chance of selling. Being practical can go a long way in helping you achieve your goals.

If you have any Real Estate questions or suggestions for future stories feel free to drop me a line at slackie14@hotmail.com