Your home may the the greatest place on earth. It may be in a fantastic neighbourhood with wonderful schools & amenities. It may be renovated with the best quality finishes and latest trends. It may be absolutely spectacular!
But if your home is overpriced, it’s not going to sell. In fact, the number one reason why homes sit on the market for long periods of time is that the price is too high.
So how can you tell if your home’s listing price is scaring away potential buyers? Here are 5 key signs to think about if your home has been sitting on the market for too long.
Sign #1: You chose your REALTOR® based on their (overly) high evaluation of the property.
We always recommend you meet with a few real estate agents before listing your home to get an idea of who you’d work well with. We also suggest you get a few different evaluations to get an idea of what your home could sell for in today’s market.
But if one of those evaluations is extraordinarily higher than the rest, use caution. Obviously you want to get the most money possible for the sale of your home. But if an agent comes to you with an over-inflated valuation of your property, there’s a good chance they’re only telling you what they think you want to hear.
Instead, choose your REALTOR® based on their track record of selling homes. Are they busy with sales? Do they have a strong history of being correct with their evaluations?
Sign #2: Your home is priced quite a bit higher than other homes in your neighbourhood.
Perhaps you’ve seen your neighbour’s homes selling, but yours just isn’t getting any offers. Why is that?
Naturally, most home owners will want to believe their home is better than the rest. But are they placing a higher value on their own property because of the memories and hard work they’ve put into it? Your home’s price should NEVER be based on emotions, but rather hard concrete facts.
It’s not to say that your home doesn’t deserve to be priced higher than your neighbours’; if the square footage, finishes and upgrades warrant it. But an experienced real estate agent will research the comparable homes in your area and help you set a price accordingly. By completing a comparative market analysis (CMA) your REALTOR® will make sure your home is priced competitively AND will attract buyers!
Sign #3: Your online listing is getting no traffic.
The Kate Broddick Team provides regular analytics to all our listing clients to show them how many potential buyers are viewing their listing across a number of platforms. Want to know how many people have seen your photos and videos this week? How many people are marking your home as a “favourite” online? We can tell you that!
So what does it mean if the number of viewers is low? What if you’re not getting any showing requests? Something is wrong.
Most home buyers begin their search online. And while beautiful photos and videos to showcase the property are important, they mean nothing if the price scares buyers away. If no one is clicking on your listing, you may need to reconsider what the price is doing.
Sign #4: You’re only getting low ball offers.
Maybe you’ve been getting some showings. And maybe there is a bit of interest from buyers. But they’re consistently bringing you lower-than-expected offers!
It’s not uncommon for buyers to test the waters with a low offer (can you blame them for trying?). But if it’s happening routinely, and buyers are willing to walk away when you don’t accept it, it may be because they feel it’s overpriced.
They may also be giving you a lowball offer because your home has been sitting on the market for longer than your competition; and even if your home is perfect it can give the appearance that there’s something wrong with it. A price adjustment may be needed to correct this.
Related Blog: Sell Your Home Faster by Using Buyer Feedback
Sign #5: Your home is just sitting on the market.
If your REALTOR® is actively marketing your home, reverse-prospecting with buyers and making consistent efforts to sell your home at the right price it should receive an acceptable offer in time. But if your home is just sitting despite your agent’s best efforts, you may need to have a talk about the price.
Often when a home sits on the market a long time, buyers may think you’re getting desperate to sell and you’ll take any price for it. (See lowball offers above!) Then you’re stuck in the cycle of rarely getting showing requests and only getting low offers. This goes on and on until the listing expires and interest is all but dried up.
Instead of re-listing at the same price only to have the same frustrating results, we recommend re-adjusting your asking price to the current market conditions (in which case it will sell).
So as your home is listed, we recommend considering the following:
- Don’t choose a REALTOR® based on their evaluation of your home alone. Look for their proven track record of sales.
- Be honest with yourself when comparing your home to other listings in your neighbourhood. Does your home really warrant a higher price?
- Review your listing analytics on a regular basis. Is your listing still getting consistent traffic on various websites?
- Take constructive criticism from buyers as they provide feedback after their showing. What did they like/dislike about the home? Is pricing a factor in their decision?
Your home is a commodity to be sold, and nobody wants to help you get there more than us! We’d be happy to give you a free home evaluation and help you get the process started!
