So, Your Home WAS Listed, It Just Sat There Gathering Dust, and Then the Holidays Rolled Around
So you withdrew it from the market. Too much hassle...not enough action. Now what?
First, let's look at the reasons it probably didn't sell.
1. Condition - Your home has issues that turned buyers off - you know, peeling Formica, paint colors from the '50's, dings in the walls.
2. Marketing - Your home wasn't presented well enough or widely enough to the marketplace.
3. Price - The market didn't like your asking price. Maybe agents/their buyers didn't come right out and say so. But they said so when they bought something else - a better value - somewhere else.
4. This Really Screwed Up Economy We're All In Right Now.
Well, the good news is - other than the economy - you can fix all these things. The bad news is, you may not be willing to. You may not even want to. Which leads us to:
5. You're just not that into it - selling your home, that is.
#5 Explained: A Little Story About One Annapolis Home That Never Did Sell
It was a nice condo, wonderful location, pretty well priced. But when the condo didn't sell - and the owners kept resisting our advice for remedying certain problems that needed attention - we knew something was up.
A few months down the road we learned that the sellers didn't really want to leave the Annapolis area. They just hadn't figured that out yet. Only when confronted squarely with the prospect of pulling up their roots did they realize that Annapolis - and not Florida - was where their hearts were.
We Learned a Valuable Lesson in the Process: Ask Home Sellers Probing Questions
By doing so, we sometimes uncover misgivings that could prove to be obstacles to a sale - misgivings that the owners may not have fully considered.
We've also learned this: when a seller resists our measured advice about getting their home sold, ambivalence about a move is often just below the surface. And ambivalence isn't selling in this market.
Solution: Have a candid conversation with yourself - and your significant other, if there is one - and ask yourself: do I really want to move? Be brutally honest.
Now, About Those Other Issues
#1 - In this marketplace, condition - how your home looks to buyers - is crucial.
Know this: everyone wants a model home today. And with new construction competing head-to-head with the resale market on price, your potential buyers have likely seen their share of them. They're spoiled, and you should spoil them, too. If you don't, somebody else will.
Solution: Fix everything that needs fixing, from loose hardware to worn carpets. Paint! Use hip, neutral, soothing colors. Hire a stager to help you improve room flow. Move stuff out: buyers are buying square footage, so show it to them.
And landscape! 82% of agents report that their buyers won't hesitate to cancel a showing if they don't like your curb appeal.
#2 - When it comes to marketing, not all agents are created equal. Some have embraced the power of the Internet wholeheartedly, many have not.
Before you re-list, find out precisely what your agent will do to market your home, and why.
Ask about photography, and for samples - online and paper - of how those photos look. Good quality photography, like this, is fundamental to real estate marketing. (Note: most agents, myself included, aren't super photographers. That's why we - The Moss Haedrich Team - almost always use professional real estate photographers.)
Solution: Make sure your agent is using the latest technology and tools to get your home sold. One neat tool we use is a lead capture system to talk with warm buyers who call in to hear recordings about our listings. (To hear how this works, call 1-866-237-3371 code 2078.)
#3 - We could advertise your home on the front page of The Washington Post seven days a week, and if the price isn't right we still won't find a buyer.
Here's a thought: at any given time, only about 20% of the homes on the market are really in the market. The rest are being virtually ignored by savvy, value-conscious home shoppers - and their agents - who are pinpointing the homes that are truly competitive.
Consider this: the market is only going to pay what it is going to pay. Until you get to that price, the market will not produce a sale.
A man walks into a bank and stacks 36 quarters neatly on the counter, and says to the teller: I'd like a $10 bill for those quarters.
The patient teller responds: Sorry, sir, those quarters are only worth $9.
Fellow: Yes, but I really want $10. I really need ten bucks.
The fellow keeps this up until the cops arrive and escort him to the station.
We Don't Haul Sellers Off to the Station When They Wait Around For the Market to Offer a Price It Never Will...
...but disregarding the market's unequivocal rejection of a home that's overpriced only draws out the inevitable and causes pain for sellers.
Solution: Get real about price before you re-list. If you can't, either rent your home or hold off on selling for a few years.
#4 - Oh Yeah - About the Economy
It is indeed screwed up right now. Some people have lost jobs, many of us have seen our investments lose considerable value.
Lending requirements have tightened and the pool of potential buyers has indeed gotten smaller. I don't think anyone knows for sure what lies ahead for our economy in the months and years to come. A fast turnaround is unlikely.
In spite of it all, life does go on. People continue to move in and out of the Annapolis area, and homes ARE selling.
Take heart in the fact that you can still sell a home, even in this challenging market, if that's what you truly want. If will take sacrifice and work, but it can happen.
(Shameless plug: If you - or anyone you know - are considering what to do next with a home that's been withdrawn from the market, give me a call at 410-507-7222 and let's talk. We'll sit down, look at the particulars, and give you our best, no-pressure assessment of your situation. Or just email me at kenhaedrich@gmail.com) and tell me your story. Look forward to hearing from you.)
This entry was posted on Saturday, January 24th, 2009 at 12:19 pm and is filed under Sellers. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
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