6 Reasons Why a Home Will Not Sell - Even In a Hot Market

Price: I am sure you guessed price as being at least one of the reasons a home will not sell. The biggest mistake any seller or their agent can make is listing a home well above fair market value. In order to price a home properly, you and your agent will thoroughly review a Comparative Market Analysis. The purpose of the CMA is to determine the price value of your home. A CMA gives you the data for homes comparable to yours that have recently sold, pending (in escrow) and currently available on the market. The CMA results will support how the agents, appraisers and most importantly BUYERS are going to evaluate your home’s value. Keep in mind, all of the homes that have ALREADY SOLD were determined by your old neighbors and their buyers, not by you or your agent.

It is important that you understand that was when the market WAS created. The true definition of value: “What a willing and able homeowner will sell their home for and what a capable buyer will pay for it.” “You have one chance to make a first impression.” When a homeowner tries to test a price and list their home too high, it backfires. Inevitably, all the agents and their buyers will label your home as overpriced and unrealistic. Buyers and agents will step back after your home has been introduced to the market and see if someone else will buy it. When no one does, all of these buyers and their agents believe they are validated that your home was over-priced. Now, if you are lucky, one or two buyers will come back and try to chisel you down in price. The biggest problem you will now encounter is the rest of the pack, the buyers’ and their agents’, have now moved on to the other homes that have come on the market. Remember, everyone is more interested in the “new guy in town”, not “yesterday’s news.” You can not afford to miss this one opportunity to price your home properly to start! The advantages of pricing your home properly from start, or even just below fair market value is, you will experience all the benefits of multiple offers.

a) A bidding war can possibly be created, therefore driving the ultimate sales price up, sometimes higher than the asking price.

b) You get to choose the best buyer for your escrow based on terms.

c) When a buyer knows they bought your home while it was “Hot” will most likely assure a buyer’s performance in escrow towards closing.

Based on the ABC of pricing, you can not go wrong. For a FREE Comparative Market Evaluation of your home, to determine the Fair Market Value; call Robert Radcliffe at 310-255-5454.

Final Note on price: My recommendation to anyone about to sell their home is to check their motivation. After you review how the market will value your home, you may not have the desire to sell. You do not want to “test the waters.” By just experimenting and seeing if you can get “Your Price,” not fair market price, will just frustrate and inconvenience you. At the same time, it will tarnish your home as being a home that did not sell when available.

Marketing: Of course this is the responsibility of your agent. Most homeowners believe all agents do basically the same thing. If this were true, then all homes would sell. Additionally, most homeowners believe by meeting one agent from one company means that is all that company has to offer. I hear frequently from potential home sellers, “Oh, I am already meeting with ABC Real Estate Company.” Or, “We are currently working with someone from ABC Realty (with no recollection of the individual agent’s name). Or worse, “Our friend has a real estate license; we thought we would give him/her a try.” Be aware that all agents are NOT alike, even within a brokerage house. Companies give agents boiler plate methods of how to market a home, but it is up to the individual agent to master and create custom marketing that enhances the homes marketability for a homeowner to benefit. Do not make the mistake of not knowing your agents’ marketing techniques and qualifications! And, just because an agent may have sold a home down the street from you, does not mean they are the best agent for your home. The difference in representation and agents’ responsibility in marketing your home can either make you or cost you THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS.

Condition: Condition of the home is the responsibility of the owner. A “Show Ready Home” is absolutely crucial to getting Top Dollar. This is another reason why pricing a home correctly is beneficial. Constantly having to clean up a home; making everything look its’ best for EVERY showing; Open House etc; is an inconvenience. Not to take into consideration the additional inconvenience of being absent during the showings (kids, dogs, etc.). Therefore, getting a home sold in a faster period of time is just plain easier and financially beneficial (See ABC under Price). Having a “Show Ready Home” from the beginning to the close of escrow is crucial. Please consult with a talented and forthright agent that will explain and counsel you how to get your home in the best condition for “Staging the Sale.” Remember, “The way we live in a home and the way we sell a home are two totally different matters.”

Access and Showings: Understanding how buyers view homes is critical. One of the toughest obstacles when working with our buyer clients is either getting the listing agent or their seller to understand that buyers want to see their home now. Or they may be making a decision on another. Agents frequently tell sellers during their listing presentation that they will be showing the home personally. I understand this sounds great in theory, however in reality it does not work. Here are the facts: If an agent has more than one listing, (you would hope they do, otherwise they are not active in listing and selling homes) and they have a request to show two or more homes at the same time in the day, which home gets shown? The highest priced home? The highest commissioned home? The most convenient home to show? Now take into consideration the likeliness of the agent having some other kind of duties in their schedule, i.e.; showing a buyer homes for the day, being at an inspection, meeting with another client, etc. I think my point is made, it just can not guarantee that an agent can be available for all showings. I have heard sellers’ say, “Well, just have the buyer reschedule.” This is where understanding the mind set of buyers AND their agent’s is imperative. If a buyer goes out to see 2-8 homes in a day (not including yours) and they see one they love, what do you think the likeliness of their agent saying, “Before you buy this home, I still need you to see one that is difficult to show (unless of course the buyer requests to see others).” I can just about guarantee this is not going to happen. Why should it? A buyer loves a home (not yours, because they could not get in) and they can only buy one. Why would an agent want to confuse a buyer to a point of “Analysis Paralysis?” Most likely the agents plan will be, go ahead and make an offer on the other home and if unsuccessful, go back to yours if needed. Now, I guess a homeowners or their agent’s theory can be, “well we will get another buyer.” However an important thought to consider is what if it was that buyer that had money burning in their pocket to buy and would have paid the most amount of money for your home, only if they had the chance to see it. This experience alone that has made a significant difference in getting homes sold when other agents were unable to. In almost all occasions when I have listed a home that had previously been listed with another agent, I have had seller’s say, “I can not believe how many showings we now have since we have listed with you. We did not have half the amount of these showings before.” Let me share with you another unfortunate truth. If a listing agent has several requests for showings on a particular house, and only able to make a couple of them because of their conflicting schedule (and have convinced their seller on the idea that they will be there for all showings), how often do you think the seller gets an update call from the agent that week saying, “We had several requests to show your home this week, however, I was only able to show it twice because of my conflicting schedule.” I have created the most effective system on how to show a home and will be happy to explain this easy process.

Communication: This is the responsibility of the agent, the seller and the agent to the brokerage community. Having a clear understanding of the client’s wishes and to communicate to the brokerage community and buyers all the information on a home are both incredibly important. It is very frustrating when representing a buyer and requesting information from a listing agent, only to hear from the listing agent, “I do not know, you will have to check that out.” I have even witnessed buyers lose interest in a home because of the lack of knowledge and communication of information from a listing agent. Other problems of poor communication from a listing agent are; a listing agent presenting false information that can potentially lead to a dispute. Or, a listing agent giving incorrect information that prevents a sale or makes it tedious and difficult in negotiations. Lastly, to the benefit of a buyer, a listing agent that shares too much information. All of these traits of poor communication can cost a seller thousands of dollars or the home not selling at all. Select your agent based on excellent communication skills.

Terms: As disappointing as it can be for all involved, sometimes the most simplistic reason within a deal prevents a successful sale. Sometimes it can just be a matter of timing. A simple example: if a buyer needs to close in 30 days, but the seller will not or can not move out until 60 days can create an issue that both buyer and seller can not or will not resolve. I have witnessed unsuccessful negotiations because of this small, yet important issue. As you can imagine, there are many other terms that can get in the way of a transaction. In one transaction, with a sales price of over $5,000,000, the seller and buyer would not agree if the extra refrigerator in the garage should either stay or go with the seller. Anyone hearing this story would say, “That is ridiculous, especially in that price range.” Well, try telling that to these two guys during the negotiations.” At one point the other agent and I said, “We will pay for a new refrigerator,” only to be told by each client, “No! This is between us.” I am happy to say that later both clients put priorities in order and the deal did close. My advice to owners and buyers is to remain flexible and open minded in negotiations and do not get stuck on the minor issues.