Is your home Selling?

Reasons your Durango Home is not selling:

There are a few reasons most homes don't sell within an alotted time. Maybe it’s the price, look or location but here are some main reasons and what you can do about it.

1.  Your marketing strategy is not working

Gone are the days when an agent could simply place your listing with the local multiple listing service, put a sign on the property, hold a halfhearted open house and wait for another agent to bring forth a buyer.

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. The best real estate agents are computer-savvy and utilize technology to the highest benefit of their sellers and as a resource to their buyers. They frequently communicate via e-mail, a particular boon when working with out-of-town buyers and have the resources to scan documents to provide disclosures, forms and paperwork in an electronic format, which allows for immediate access, as opposed to waiting a few days for express mail.

Today's top performers launch a multilevel marketing plan that includes listing tours for other agents, newspaper and magazine ads, targeted weekend open houses, listing fliers and placements in local real estate publications. Those who are taking full advantage of the technology available will have web sites offering information to educate sellers as well as resources to keep buyers involved enough to want to get information on properties. They use services and tools to keep their sites at the top of many internet search engines (such as MSN.com), virtual tours, mapping links and automated systems such as a “Realty Watcher”. These are all resources that keep customers engaged in a site, hopefully long enough to put your home in front of them!

2. Your home doesn't 'show' well

Your home may be competing against shiny new houses in those pristine subdivisions out in the suburbs with their attractive prices, incentives and community amenities. OR you may have a larger lot with a smaller home, or a larger home with a smaller parcel of land, live in a community with protective covenants or in one with no restrictions on what you can do with your home. These issues play into a couple of issues such as presentation and competition (market conditions).

Regarding the presentation of your home, there are many issues with the presentation of your home that can impact a showing that we have no control over such as, time of day, the weather, the road conditions, a neighbor’s dog, etc. Fortunately, there are also many things that we can control that may have significant positive impacts on the presentation! There are times when a home needs to have a small make over that is cosmetic and relatively inexpensive: a new coat of paint, a few attractive window boxes, a thorough cleaning of floors and carpets. Sometimes it is helpful to bring in a Staging company to re-arrange furnishings and personal affects that may be distracting to potential buyers or even bring in new items to fill vacant spaces. Our agents at CENTURY 21 Premiere can advise you on where your time and money are best spent.

3.  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 and some of them unpredictable.  In a seller's market, homes go fast. Inventory 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.

However, in a buyer's market, sales slow to a trickle, the numbers of homes on the market grow and buyers can find bargains (and often incentives such as paying for inspections, home warranties, repairs, closing cost payment and even down payment / loan assistance) especially when they know the seller is motivated.

When there is a flux in the market, much like what many areas are going through right now, many seller’s are unwilling to sacrifice on price and are willing to hold out on time and buyer’s feel like the sellers should offer more or take a lower price to drive the sale of the home. This situation often results in a stalemate, where a lot of homes are presented offers, but many of those fail before close.

 
Another factor to consider if you're trying to sell in a flat market is that you're not only competing against all that vacant new construction, but against rentals as well. When home sales have seen heavy appreciation and then an increase in mortgage rates, it is more feasible for what would have been more prospective buyers to look at renting until there is another turn in the market. People become weary of the risk and often lose sight of the fact that it may be the best time to get into a home (while the market is slow and sellers may be more willing to consider options to help the buyer). When time is more of a factor, then sellers and buyer both have to consider what areas they feel strongly about and what areas they are willing to work with the other side on. In this case, a seller should be prepared to settle for less than top dollar, or wait to sell until the pendulum swings once again in your favor and a buyer should not expect the seller to “give up the farm”!

4.  Your home is overpriced
 

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 or be willing to make the choice that you will need to allow more time for your Agent to wait for the market to catch up with your price to be able to do their job.

Most real estate agents, and hence most qualified buyers, will see your new listing within 30 days. If it is overpriced by as little as 5%, it will be duly noted and interest in your property will wane, especially if you show no intention of coming off your asking price. You likely already priced out buyers who might have qualified for financing on the home and would have been interested if it had shown up in their search of homes in what would have been a more reasonable price range. Even if you manage to find a buyer at your inflated asking price, the property may not appraise at that figure and the financing will fall apart.

If your home remains on the market for too long, agents and buyers may begin to wonder if there are other, perhaps more serious reasons why it isn't selling.

Also, if a home doesn't sell within a couple months and you lower the price, many times buyers have already overlooked your home and you may loose out on many potential buyers by starting high and dropping later.

So, make certain even before you list your home that you don't make these vital mistakes. Trust our agents at CENTURY 21 Premiere to help sell your Durango Colorado Real Estate and market your home using all necessary tools.