Steps to Take When Your Property Won’t Sell

As easy as it was to sell a home just four years ago, it is now brutally difficult. This is the natural back and forth of the real estate market, but to a bit of an extreme. If you are having problems selling in this market, is there anything you can do?

There is no doubting the current real estate market is tough to sell in. It may even seem hopeless in your area. It is not hopeless. You can sell. In fact, we just sold our home. The key is to be persisten and take unique approaches.

The first thing you learn when getting into real estate is the location rule. The nature of your neighborhood is critical. The better, the better your chances of selling. Play up the attributes of it in your marketing material.

Ah, but what if you have a problem neighbor or two? You know. The ones who have a front yard that looks like a jungle? Offer to have the landscaping done for them. It will probably embarrass them into taking action. If not, it is money well spent.

Step back from your pricing. Look around the neighborhood. Are there comparable homes listed for less, even a few thousand dollars less? If so, you need to cut your price. You don’t need to beat the fixer upper on the block, just those similar to your home.

Ah, but my home is better than the comparables because I have marble counters or something else. Yes, but most buyers will not care. Why? What does every new homeowner do? They fix stuff up! Your slight advantages don’t matter to them.

Given this, many homeowners just can’t bear to cut their price. Are their homes destined to sit on the market? Nope, but you must aggressively market the differences that make your home superior to comparable ones.

If your price isn’t low, you can try to make up for it with favorable terms for your buyers. Specifically, offer to help them by carrying a second note on the property or providing some other nugget that will make them bite on the property.

An obvious, but often missed, final step is to make small improvements to the property that carry big weight. Landscaping is usually cheap and can radically change the look of a property.

Regardless, there are a couple quick fixes that are cheap and will help. Fix and clean the driveway. Clean up the landscaping. Paint the front, particularly around windows. Get rid of all that clutter in your house. Basically, you need to give your home a buffing.