Selling an investment property can be a grueling task especially if you’ve never done it before. Imagine having potential buyers come into your house, show them around all rooms and closets, and have them poke around.
To some, this would feel like an invasion of privacy. Some buyers will criticize the property you’ve called home for a long time, and give you offers less than what you were willing to accept.
What’s even worse is failing to sell the home faster than expected. It becomes infuriating when you don’t get any offers at all, yet you’ve prepared the house and even spent your hard-earned money to get the word out.
What options do you have when you fail to get offers for your house? Are there any alternatives other than the conventional means to selling your property?
In this article, we look at the mistakes you could be making that are delaying the sale and how to solve them.
Why Isn’t My House Selling? Mistakes You’re Committing
When your house fails to attract any offers within a reasonable timeframe, the first thing you should do is look inwards. You could be committing some grave mistakes.
These are some mistakes you should steer clear of when selling your home. So, why won’t my house sell?
Why Isn’t My House Selling? Pricing Inappropriately
If your home’s condition is perfect but still won’t attract offers, you should probably rethink your price expectations. Your selling price and what the market is willing to pay are two different things.
The standard market value is usually determined by the supply and demand conditions. You can expect to sell at a higher price if the demand is high but the supply is low. However, this doesn’t always mean that you can set the price as high as you want.
Many property sellers find themselves resisting the urge to overprice. Setting an appropriate selling price, in fact, can be one of the biggest challenges you’ll face while selling your home.
How do you set a reasonable price?
If you’ve been in the real estate business for a while, you may have a rough idea of how to price your property. You can also look at various data and resources that provide insights into a market’s value. You can compare with other homes of similar size, appeal, and features and see how much they’re selling for.
However, one surefire way may be to talk to a real estate agent. They have been in the market longer than you have been and have experience selling that type of property. Their advice will be invaluable when building your pricing strategy. Consult one if you want to know whether you’re too ambitious or you’ve set the price too high.
Also, you may get feedback from potential buyers when they come for showings.
Why Isn’t My House Selling? Your Listing Pictures Aren’t High-Quality
Did you know that 44% of property buyers look online before doing anything else? Also, 87% of those online users say that they find listing pictures very useful.
If your property’s online photos aren’t appealing, no one is going to come to see your house in person. This includes listings that have no photos, few photos, or photos where the house looks badly organized.
Nowadays, photos you take using your smartphone just won’t make the cut.
What’s the solution?
Strategic visuals sell your house faster by up to 32%. This means you should get a professional photographer to take your property’s photos and videos. If you’re working with an agent, they can organize one for you since they have the networks.
If your realtor doesn’t have anyone they can recommend, find one yourself. Consider it an investment that will give you high returns in the end.
Before taking professional photos, stage your house and ensure it doesn’t look messy.
Why Isn’t My House Selling? You Have Issues to Fix
Even if the house fails to attract offers within the period you expected, it provides you with something important: data. Asking for feedback during showings is vital.
You can ask potential clients the following questions:
- Are there any problems you’ve noted with this home?
- If you’d make any changes to this home, what would they be?
- Do you have any feedback?
If you get the same answer from several people, you have an issue you need to fix. Once you’ve identified it, you should take the necessary measures to fix it.
For example, you may be advised to find ways to add more light, aerate certain rooms, declutter the space, or have your windows cleaned.
However, buyers may also have trouble pointing fingers at specific issues or recommending a solution. For example, they may not identify where to place your TV in a room with windows on all walls, or fitting a king-size bed in smaller rooms. In such a case, you can arrange a staging to show them how you can solve it.
Also, some things can’t be solved. For example, buyers may find that the street on which your home is located isn’t as picturesque as they expected or it’s too busy. In such a case, you can negotiate on the price.
Why Isn’t My House Selling? Wrong Marketing Strategy
If you’re working with a real estate agent, it makes sense to leave all the marketing to them. After all, you’re paying them to do so. However, this could also contribute to you not selling your home soon enough. Why? Because they could be using the wrong marketing strategy or not marketing enough.
We live in a technology age. We have various social media and other marketing platforms all around us. The wise thing to do is post the property on various platforms and listing sites yourself. Also, take advantage of local community groups since they consist of members who have quality networks.
The Mashvisor Property Marketplace is a tool designed to help homebuyers find off-market properties more easily and faster. It also has a feature for property sellers who wish to list their homes on the site.
As a seller, you simply need the following information to list on Mashvisor Property Marketplace:
- Street Address
- State
- City
- Zip Code
- Status (active, pending, off-market)
- Listing type
- Property type
- Number of bedrooms and bathrooms
- Asking price
Once you’ve entered all this information, your listing will be advertised to thousands of prospective buyers, real estate agents, and other investors who may be interested in your property. They can easily reach out and communicate with you via the platform. The icing on the cake is that all this is absolutely free.
Why Isn’t My House Selling? You’re Working With the Wrong Realtor
You can solve almost every mistake by working with the right real estate agent. A seasoned agent will help you come up with the right pricing strategy, stage your house the right way, get a professional photographer and follow the right marketing strategy.
In fact, the right real estate agent will be in charge of your marketing strategy, taking care of queries, and being in charge of showings.
For example, an experienced realtor may point out that your backyard isn’t private enough and even recommend a landscaper to solve the privacy problem.
How can you fix this?
Be patient while selecting a real estate agent to work with. Interview them if you have to. You want to ensure that the agent you pick is an expert in your market and the type of property you’re selling. Ensure you also see their credentials and licensing.
You can ask the following questions:
- What is your marketing plan for the property?
- Do we have to sign a contract? If so, what is the validity period of the contract?
- How do you negotiate with potential clients?
- How will you keep me updated on the sale?
- Do you have any listings that will be competing with mine?
Hiring the wrong agent will lead to you taking a lot of time to sell your home or end up taking a lot less than you were willing to accept.
Why Isn’t My House Selling? Other Solutions to Consider
We’ve looked at mistakes you could be committing and how you can solve them to sell your home faster. However, some factors may be out of your control. For example, it’s publicly known that the market tends to become quite dormant during winter. What do you do in such a situation?
You have to take action. The solutions may not be ideal, but you have to compromise sometimes. Here are other alternatives for you when your home won’t sell:
Wait for a More Ideal Time
Real estate markets tend to get slower in some seasons, such as winter when people simply want to enjoy the holidays as they prepare for the new year. With the kind of cold weather during the season, going out for showings doesn’t really sound like a good idea. Many buyers also expect discounts and deals during the holidays.
In such a case, waiting for the market to become a bit more active can work in your favor. Ensure you do research since markets may be more active in some seasons than others. Properties in some markets may sell faster during spring while others may sell faster during autumn.
Selling during faster seasons will not only increase your chances of getting multiple offers but also help you sell at a good price. This is a great option if you don’t have time constraints.
Seek your real estate agent’s advice on when is the best time to sell. Remember that some of them may put their selfish interests first, so “Now” is not always the best answer. Ensure they explain to you why you should sell your home during a certain period.
Rent Your Property
Some property sellers may be trying to make a distressed sale. They choose to dispose of their property due to a financial fix, such as mortgage repayments or a health emergency. If this is your case, it’s wise to find renters for your property, instead of leaving the house vacant as you wait for buyers.
This solution may not be permanent, but it may help you offset a few pending bills or make your financial situation manageable.
If you choose to pursue this option, remember that becoming a landlord is a lot of work. Be prepared for the property management tasks and responsibilities that come with renting out your property. Choose whether you’ll do these tasks yourself or outsource to a property management company.
You can attract renters who aren’t sure they want to become owners by offering rent-to-own options. This is where you find tenants willing to rent the home for a price above the market rate and provide them an option to buy the home at a certain price after a specific period.
With this option, you can even get the renter to agree to cater for future repair costs, which will considerably bring your expenses down. Rent-to-own tenants are more likely to take better care of their property since it could end up being theirs.
Key Takeaways
As a home seller, you want the process to be as seamless and straightforward as possible. If you’re a beginner, it could be a little overwhelming at first. You could make some mistakes that could lead to your house not selling.
You might have high price expectations that could push potential buyers away. If you’ve listed the house on an online platform, check whether your images are high-quality and appealing to the target customers. Also, ensure you’re working with the right real estate agent so that they can advise you on how to market your property, when best to sell and how to take care of the showings.
If you’re not in a distressed sale and can wait out a little longer, you may wait for a perfect season to sell. Alternatively, you can find renters to occupy the house instead of leaving it to stay vacant.
If your house hasn’t sold as fast as you expected, don’t panic. You’re not alone. Follow these tips and see your house get multiple offers.