For Sellers Only, Libertyville Real Estate, Vernon Hills Real Estate, Lake Real Estate, Mary Tokarz

6 Reasons Your Home Isn't Selling

                        Week after week your home labors on the market. You're getting
                       lots of showings but not a single offer; or maybe the showing activity
                        has slowed down to a trickle. You're ready to pull out your hair. Here
                        are some culprits that may be keeping buyers away in droves.

If your home has been on the market for more than 90 days, or you've had tons of showings
in the past 30 days and not one single offer, it's time to re-evaluate your selling situation.
In today's real estate market, a home that shows well and is priced competitively, will
usually sell within the first few weeks of being listed. As the spring market starts to heat up
and buyer demand begins to rise, sellers who take the time to stage their home for the market and price it sensibly will realize a quick sale...and for top dollar!

Here are the six most common reasons why homes don't sell and what you can do about it.

Your home is overpriced
Optimistic home sellers love to parrot the old adage, "There's a buyer for every home."
But they often leave off the qualifier: "at the buyer's price." The fact is that buyers, not sellers, ultimately determine the market value of a home. You can ask for the moon and set your listing price well above comparable properties in your neighborhood, but at some point it will be
up to you, the seller, to accept what the buyer thinks your home is worth.

Overpricing is the most common reason homes don't sell. When you ask an
unrealistic price, it sets in motion a process that often works against you. Here's why:

When your listing first debuts on the market, it will generate the most showing activity
within the first 30 days. If it is grossly overpriced, it will be duly noted and interest in your property will wane, especially if you show no intention of coming down in your asking price. You have already priced out buyers who might have qualified for financing at a more reasonable price. Even if you manage to find a buyer who is willing to pay your inflated asking price, the property
may not appraise at that figure and the financing will fall apart.
Back on the market you go...not a good thing!

Your real estate agent may have approved or even suggested the inflated asking price to
secure your listing. This is a caveat some sellers need to heed when interviewing Realtors.
It is important for you to pay careful attention to the data your agent provides and use common sense when determining market value for your home. If similar homes in your area are selling within a specific range, don't price yours $50,000 higher. All you will succeed in doing is help your neighbor down the street sell his faster. You can be sure that agents who show your property will use it as a source of comparison to similar homes that are priced correctly.

If you have a house that really should be priced at $300,000 and you've got it listed at
$350,000, you are trying to compete against homes that are worth closer to $400,000. All
of a sudden your home really is not competing well. You want to compete with homes that
are similar to yours.

And here's one of the biggest concerns a seller should have; If your home remains on the
market for too long, agents and buyers may begin to wonder if there are other, more serious reasons why it isn't selling. Your property becomes stigmatized and shopworn.  Agents are aware that it has been on the market a long time and they stop showing it. And even if you succeed in getting an offer on it, chances are it will be a low-ball from a buyer thinking you're "desperate" to sell.

Think back to when you were a buyer shopping for a home. The
                first thing you probably asked your agent when you stepped foot in
                the house was "How long has this house been on the market?"

             Long market time in a  buyers eyes is an opportunity for a "good deal."

Your home doesn't "show" well
In many cases your home is competing against shiny new houses in brand new subdivisions
that offer attractive base prices, incentives and community amenities.

Face it: Even the best old house needs a little makeover if it hopes to attract a qualified buyer.

The good news is most of the work will be cosmetic and relatively inexpensive: You'll be
amazed at how you can transform your home with a new coat of paint and a thorough cleaning
of floors, carpets and light fixtures. In no time at all the place will look as good as new. You
may even reconsider selling!

A good real estate agent can advise you on where your time and money are best spent.
Feel free to call or e-mail me. I'll be glad to counsel and assist you in any way I can.

You're in a bad location
Nothing has a greater impact on your home's value than its location. If you are backing to a
road, railroad tracks or high tension wires you're home will be valued less than the same model
that sits on a cul-de-sac and backs to open space. School districts also play a big factor in
market value. It might even jump thousands in value just two streets over in the next (and far superior) school district.

The point is, location rules in real estate. It always has, it always will. If your location is less than desirable, your options are somewhat limited. A good real estate agent will do his best to help you accentuate the positive and eliminate the negative of your circumstances.

The best way to compensate for a poor location is to reduce your asking price or offer attractive incentives such as seller financing or a lease option with rent credit.

You have a less than desirable listing agent
Not all Realtors are created equal. Not all provide the level of service the seller is expecting when they first hired them. Now don't get me wrong. There are many good agents out there who work extremely hard for their clients, market effectively, and keep the communication lines flowing. I'm talking about the handful of agents who we refer to in the industry as the "list them and leave them" type. The seller who ends up with this type of agent most likely was looking for the lowest possible commission rate AND/OR adamant about setting an unrealistic sales price on their property. The agent wants the listing, agrees to the terms of the seller, puts up a sign in the front yard and enters the information into the MLS...and that's it! He's not going to put much
effort into marketing the property. After all, he knows the home is way over-priced and no amount of marketing will make a buyer pay more than he should, and he's certainly not making much money off the listing since he's agreed to cut his commission to a "blue light level" special.
The old saying still holds true today; "You get what you pay for."

The agent from hell will allow you to overprice your home ("Here's what I can get for you if you list with me!"), not market it properly, fail to screen for qualified buyers, be unresponsive to interest from other agents (if they sell their own listing, they don't have to split the commission) and keep you totally in the dark throughout the process.

What's more, if your agent is abrasive, arrogant or otherwise difficult to work with, other agents may not want the hassle of showing any of their listings to prospective buyers. I can't stress enough how true this is! Being aggressive is one thing, being obnoxious is another!

You are battling competition or market conditions
We've all heard the terms "buyer's market" and "seller's market." In real estate, market conditions are affected by any number of external forces, some of them predictable (the weather, the Superbowl (I'm not kidding), some of them unpredictable (the local economy, interest rates, the Chicago Bears in the Superbowl!)

In a "hot" or seller's market, homes go fast. Inventory (homes on the market) may be low, meaning less competition for you. Chances are better that you will get your asking price in a hot market; in fact, it is not uncommon to even be offered more than your listing price, especially
if you received multiple offers on your property.

But in a "flat," "cold" or buyer's market, sales slow to a trickle, inventories grow and buyers can find bargains, especially when they know the seller is motivated (i.e., paying on two mortgages).

If you're trying to sell in a flat market, you're not only competing against all that vacant new construction, but against rentals as well. In this case, be prepared to settle for less than top dollar, or wait to sell until the pendulum swings once again in your favor.

You have ineffective marketing
Gone are the days when an agent could simply place your listing with the local multiple listing service, hold a halfhearted open house and wait for another agent to bring forth a buyer.

Today's top performers launch a multilevel marketing plan that includes listing tours for area agents, newspaper ads, weekend open houses, listing fliers and placements in local real estate publications.

Computers and the Internet also have changed the face of real estate. According to the National Association of Realtors, today more than one-third of all home buyers use the Internet for house hunting. Research shows that buyers pay more attention to a property if it has multiple photos or a virtual tour. If it doesn't, they move on. If you're agent isn't marketing your listings on the internet to its maximum capacity, it's time to find a new agent. If you're in the market to sell your home, call or e-mail me. I'll be glad to show you how I utilize the internet to obtain the most effective exposure for your property.

There are some agents who just put the listing in the multiple listing service and pray it will sell and those that put a lot of effort into marketing their listings. I happen to fall into the latter category. If you are thinking about selling your home and need some expert advice and guidance, please feel free to call or e-mail me. It would be my pleasure to help you in any way I can!

Mary Tokarz, Realtor

Century 21 Kreuser & Seiler
200 N. Milwaukee Ave.
Libertyville, Il. 60048
(800) 321-2124 x208
Mary@ForSellersOnly.info

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