Why hasn’t my home been sold? It has been on the market for almost a year.
This is a typical question from homeowners across the United States.
The answer can be found by looking at the location, condition and price.
If a prospective buyer has found your home in a particular location, it means the buyer is okay with the location.
If the buyer has seen the condition the home is in and has not made an offer, but the location is where the buyer would like to be, then the condition is not the problem.
Repairs can be made; conditions can be fixed.
Price. The price is usually a problem.
When a home is overpriced, buyers are often reluctant to even suggest making an offer.
Perhaps the current owner expended a lot of money adding fixtures, using paint colors that are not popular, using out of date carpet styles, such as shag carpet, and has not replaced old stoves, washers and dryers and kept the property up to current standards.
These problems can be fixed and paid for by the new owner.
However, the new owner is going to calculate the cost of the updated items and calculate that in the offer, if an offer is made.
So, when the asking price is quite a bit above current prices of similar homes in good condition, the home in question will be bypassed.
Sellers might want to consider how long they want to stay in their existing home instead of selling and moving on with their life.
Drop the asking price to market, or even below market. Buyers and real estate agents have probably seen the home and will not be encouraged to take another look if the price is dropped just a little. That will be a waste of time and effort.
Consider a 15 percent to 20 percent reduction and that will get attention.
The asking price is the reason the home is still on the market.
