Daniel Pizano, Realtor in San Jose CA real estate agent, broker, Coldwell Banker blog

 Reasons your home is not selling – How to Sell your Home

Here are the 5 reasons your home is not selling:

1. Price – The price is too high. Believe it or not, sellers price their homes high because they have an idea that their home is better than everyone else’s. Much like a car. If I had a classic Mustang, I would think its better than someone else’s Mustang, Camaro or even Vette. I would also think it’s worth more. It has more value to me, but perhaps not to anyone else in the market. It’s an attachment thing. Many sellers don’t put themselves in the buyer’s shoes and ask themselves the simple question, “Would I pay this amount to buy my home?” If they were honest with themselves, many sellers would say it’s priced too high.

2. Lack of Exposure – The agent is not exposing it to the marketplace well. The Internet is the best place for exposing your home to potential buyers. According to the National Association of Realtors, 9 out of 10 buyers start shopping for a home on the Internet even before they contact a single agent. Being on the Internet is a start. The photographs should be top-notch and show off the home’s features well. If you spent $20K on a kitchen upgrade, then you should show it off to buyers. The agent needs to open the home up to the public and announce that the home will be available for viewings. It has to be easy to access. Many listings expire because the seller’s demand a 24 notice to show their home or they refuse to place a lock box for Realtors to access their property. By opening up the home, you get more traffic to your home. This is not rocket science, just common sense.

3. Condition – The condition is poor. If the home smells like pet odor, you’ll be lucky to have anyone stay in your home for more than 5 minutes. No one wants to buy a home that smells bad or the carpet has pet stains. This is a major turnoff for buyers. If the property needs a new roof or the floors are not level, most buyers will just pass on the home. Buyers have no idea how much a new roof costs. They have a tough time estimating how much it would cost to repair a foundation. In a nutshell, buyers will come up with some ridiculous figures in their estimating. I know this because I have seen this play out with buyers. They look at a fixer upper home that needs 40K of work and they estimate 100K. As as result they walk away claiming that the home is not worth it. If they make an offer, it is a low ball offer. My suggestion to any seller who is serious about selling a home with some problems is to fix the problems. If the home needs a roof, get it replaced. If the home’s floors slope, get the foundation repaired. By making the condition of the home a non-issue, you will get more buyers willing to buy your property.

4. Location – Outside Conditions. Look at your neighbors property. Is it a junk pit? Are there junk cars in the neighbor’s driveway? Are you on a busy street? Is there an electrical tower next to you? The old adage in real estate is “Location, Location, Location.” If you are selling your home on a busy street, don’t expect to get top dollar. remember, when you bought that home it was less than the homes that were not on the busy street. If you are next to a school, some buyers will not like that. However, there are some buyers who don’t mind being next to a school. Understand that the location of your home has something to do with how fast it sells. Price it accordingly.

5. Market – The market slowed down. Sometimes everything is good, but their are less buyers out there shopping for a home. If this is the case perhaps you can lower your price a bit to attract the few buyers out there right now. Otherwise, you will have better luck at a later date or in the spring or summer. The pace of the market is important to understand. Some people think that selling in the spring time is better than selling in the winter months. This depends on the market. If you have less competition in the winter and prices are still going strong, then you might consider selling during the winter. Keep in mind that the market changes very rapidly. You should make sure that you understand how many other homes (like yours) you are competing with. Keep an eye out for the number of homes that went Pending. This will give you an indication of the pace of the market. If there are 50 homes on the market in your given area and 5 are going into contract each week, the pace is 20 out of 50 for the month or 40%. That is a good market. On the flip side, if there are 50 homes for sale and they are selling at an average of 1 per week, this is 4 out of 50 for the month. The pace is 8% which is very slow. Your Realtor should educate you on the Actives-to-Pending percentages in your area. If you need help selling your home, Id like to help. Please call me at (408) 460-8401. I can show you how to sell your home in the shortest amount of time and for the most money.