Very good advice!    Especially in a non-local secondary home marketplace, where DOM aren't so relevant...have to wait for buyer to decide "for" a discretionary purchase!  

Great post Carla! There can be so many reasons why a listing is stale. That's why its so important for listing agents to price it "just right" so as to avoid being stale.

Hi Carla,

There are lots of great listings that get overlooked, particularly in slower markets.  Love finding a great 'stale' listing that's just perfect for the buyers.  The seller's relieved, and the buyers often feel they've got a good deal when the negotiations are through.  

Carla....this is so right!  I was thinking about this just today while I was out!

Is it on the market because it was overpriced? Will the seller finally allow you to price it right? If so, don't worry about it being a stale listing - especially if you are the second (or third) listing agent.

Great point, Carla.  Every pot has a lid.  The house may not have been right for everyone, but it obviously was for your clients.

Hey Carla! Listings that have been on the market a long time don't necessarily mean that they're "stale". A lot of times they mean "sellers wanted too much for them in the first place", followed by "I think we can get a little more than market value", ending with "okay, we'll take fair-market value." Right?

Carla - AMEN!!!  I too agree that not all stale listings are bad property.  Yes, many are but not all.  When I pre-approve someone and before they start looking, I always tell them to keep an open mind about what they may think is good property or not.

Boy did I need to hear this tonight...I have said stale listing...it has literally been the bridesmaid a half dozen times...another agent had it before me and I had it six months and have it now again.  We always get good comments and never a price issue...just a "not the one"...I'm nuts over this one and found myself exhaling as I read your post...maybe a you will come to this listing and buy it!

Cindy in Indy

Yes I too believe that there are some hidden gems out there.  Only seeing the home in person can one decide if it works for them.  Good post.

Sometimes it is the agents description. If the description is targeted at the wrong buyers the right buyers won't come by.

I did recently call a listing agent to ask "what the heck is wrong with this house" because it was a great pice, nice convenient location and on the market for over a year with no contract.  She said "nada, nothing, don't understand it"

Sometimes it's like God was reserving the house for them. :)

This is soo true Carla!

Quite often the home that has sat on the market hasn’t been priced to sell. Way back in 2001 I bought a house that had been on the market for 16 months. It was priced to sell, or so the comps said, but when we drove by the house, the whole place was overgrown with weeds. Being the gardener that I am, I saw the potential, made an offer, and owned it 30 days later. The interior had been completed remodeled 17 months earlier, so all I had to do was the landscaping, and I’m very good at that! Made a killing off of flipping that property because curb appeal is cheap!

By the way, you have a shout-out in my Pay It Forward Google Juice part 7 post.

Carla, I agree that a stale listing doesn't have to be a "stinker", I have a list on it's 2nd 6 month extension...initially it was priced about right to a little high, but I couldn't talk the seller out of it...anyway, now we a very, very well priced...nada...it's a beautiful home less than 3 years old...everyone likes it...I'm the only agent that has been involved...wish I knew what the problem is.  The home is priced better than any other and still it sits.

Amen!  Sometimes, it's just SPECIAL. It's like the older dog at the pound...very very wonderful, but maybe depressed upon first sight, because it's been there awhile, but with some TLC, it can bounce back to TERRIFIC! It just needs the right owner. Someone with vision and love.

Very true!  I have one that is slightly overpriced.  Sellers are in NO hurry to reduce or "dump" it and they are cool.  If it sells it sells

Sometimes it isn't price but property type. A 3 bedroom, 1 1/2 bath cape cod on 5 acres with a 4 stall barn is made for more horses than people....how many buyers for that at any one time? Too many houses, too few buyers.....