7 Reasons Your Home Hasn't Sold

When you listed your home, you were so excited.  You were certain that it would sell in just a few days and that you'd have multiple offers.  But here you sit three months later and your home is still on the market.  You've had a good number of showings, but no offers and little to no feedback.  You're asking yourself, "Why hasn't my home sold?"

Well, there could be a variety of reasons why your home hasn't sold.  Some of them are completely within your control and some of them are not at all in your control.  For purposes of this blog post, let's focus on the reasons that are within your control.

1.  Too Much Deferred Maintenance

A home with lots of deferred maintenance doesn't make a good first impression on buyers.  Deferred maintenance issues create the belief, whether conscious or unconscious, that other more major things might be wrong with the home.  Most buyers simply have no interest in expending lots of money on repairs as soon as they move into a home.

Take an objective look at your home (look at it through the eyes of a buyer seeing it for the first time) and assess what deferred maintenance issues it has.  Repair those issues yourself or hire a handyman or contractor to repair them for you.

2.  Low or No Curb Appeal

When a prospective buyer pulls up to your house, you want her to say, "Wow, it's beautiful!" If she looks at the house and sees weeds in the flower beds, overgrown grass, debris filled gutters and old, soggy newspapers in the driveway, I guarantee she'll say, "Wow", but for all the wrong reasons.  Many buyers won't even bother to go inside if the home lacks sufficient curb appeal

The exterior of your home is just as important as the interior.  So why would you neglect to make it as presentable as the interior?  Following are a few tips to help maximize curb appeal.

Curb Appeal is essential to making a good first impression on buyers

• Keep the lawn mowed and the shrubs trimmed;
• Pull weeds from flower beds, plant colorful flowers and cover soil with mulch;
• Pressure wash siding or, alternatively, paint;
• Paint shutters and front door;
• Clean gutters and make sure they are in good condition;
• Keep the driveway, walkways and porches free of leaves and other debris;
• Keep doorways free of cobwebs and wasp nests;
• Don't leave bikes, balls and toys in the front yard or driveway. 
  
  

3.  Too Dark & Gloomy

Buyers respond favorably to homes that are light, bright and airy.  If a home is dark and gloomy, buyers tend to respond less favorably and perceive it as depressing and/or dirty.

To give your home a light and bright feel, remove heavy drapes and swags and replace them with shutters or blinds.  Turn on lights and open blinds and shutters (or drapes) before showings.

4.  Too Cluttered

You want prospective buyers to be able to envision themselves living in the home.  If your collectibles, family photos, and other stuff are all over the place, it makes it difficult for them to do.  So, it's best to remove all of your keepsakes, knickknacks, collectibles, and family photos.  Additionally, you should store sensitive documents, credit cards, checkbooks, prescription medications and weapons in a secure place.

When a home has too much furniture, buyers will perceive it as being much smaller than it actually is.  If so have a lot of furniture or heavy or over-sized furniture, you should downsize and minimize.  The goal is to stage your home like a model home so that it looks and feels spacious and roomy.

5.  Too Outdated

If your home is outdated, it will be less appealing to buyers  The kitchen is one of the rooms that's most important to buyers.  Does your kitchen look like it's from the 70's or 80's?  Is it dull and dingy" Are the appliances relics from another era?

If you invest some money in updating and modernizing your kitchen, it will definitely help your cause.  Depending on the issues with your kitchen, painting the walls, cabinets and drawers and replacing the hardware on the cabinets and drawers might do the trick.  However, if your kitchen is in really bad shape, you should consider replacing counter tops and appliances as well.

6.  Not Clean

One of the biggest turn offs for buyers is a home that is not clean.  Studies show that buyers find pet odors, cooking odors and the smell of trash to be particularly offensive. So it's imperative that your home smell fresh and clean.

Likewise, your home should look fresh and clean.  Every room should be neat and tidy.  Carpets should be vacuumed and hardwoods and tile should be clean and polished.

Close attention should be paid to the kitchen and bathrooms.  If a buyer perceives these areas as unclean, they will automatically view the entire home as unclean.  So make sure counters and sinks are clean and free of lots of "stuff".  All kitchen appliances should be clean.  Showers and tubs, toilets and the area around toilets should be clean.  Do not leave clothes on the bathroom floor.  Empty trashcans before showings.

7.  Overpriced

No matter how beautiful your home is, if it's overpriced, it's not going to sell.  It's imperative that you pay attention to the cues the market is giving you.  If you're having showings, but aren't getting offers, a price adjustment may be in order.  If you're not having showings, a price reduction may be in order.  Regardless of how much you think your home is worth, ultimately, it's the market that decides its true value and the market consists of buyers.  So pay attention to the feedback you're getting from buyers and their agents.

If your home needs work and you're not in a financial position to do it, a price reduction is probably the best way to deal with it and make the home more appealing to a buyer.  You cannot realistically expect to get top dollar for a home that is not in tip top condition.

Take Aways

There's a saying in real estate that price might not be the problem, but it's usually the solution.  This saying means that most issues that might prevent a property from selling can be addressed or resolved by reducing the sales price.  However, if you take the proper steps to prepare your home for sale before you list it and if you price it right based on it's condition and other relevant factors, you'll significantly increase your chances of selling it without having to reduce the price.