6  Top Reasons Why Your House in Fort Washington  Will Not Sell In This Market:

 The statistic shows that homes are selling in our market quickly with less days on the market and sellers getting up to 90-95% of asking price, but this applies to sellers that are not making these 5 top mistakes. Many homes languish in the market for many months with no offer or showing. Today’s buyers are savvy, looking for bargain, and homes with minimal repairs. If you are putting your house in the market in the next few months or you house is already in the market and with no showings or offers , then you need to take a step back and see if you are jeopardizing your home sale. Below are 6 top reasons why many homes will not sell in this market.

Overpriced:

It can not be over stated enough that buyers will not pay more than your house is worth. Who determines house  price? Is very basic -buyers dictate what any house will sell for. When setting a sales price an experienced agent will provide recently sold homes within a subdivision or neighborhood , provide list of similar homes in the market and the ones that are under contract. Sellers need to be objective and remove any sentiments when setting price for their house. That upgrade and additions will not make your house sell for 100K over similar homes in the market. Many  sellers argue and demand higher price than the house can sell for based on the upgrades  they’ve completed or base on what amount they need to make from the house sale. While both are important to seller, neither is important to buyers looking for a bargain. How do you know your house is over priced? No showing after the house is in the market for at least 2 weeks. If your house is in the market and you are not getting any showing request , it may be time to check your price.

-Showing Time

Making showing difficult for buyers is another reason your house will be in the market longer than necessary. What ways can seller make showing difficult?  Requiring 24 hour notice to show property, Not allowing lockbox at property, requiring to be there for all showings, have time restrictions all these are barriers to sell a house. To make your house accessible let your agent install electronic lockbox, make appointment as easy as possible. Homes with least amount of showing restrictions to buyers and other agents get lots of showings, when you have showings the chance of getting an offer increases.

– House Condition

Another top reason your house will not sell – Condition. The best way to judge how your house show is to take a moment to go out and look at builder model homes. Builder model homes are professionally staged to appeal to buyers. Envision making your house like, to  appeal to buyers. Most buyers are looking for ready to move in home especially if the price is at market level. While it may be difficult to make your home look like  a builder model home, there are some things that can  be done to make it appealing to buyers.

– Remove clutters. Sellers want to show as much space as possible so buyers can visualize themselves in the house

– Remove all personal pictures on the wall. Sellers want buyers to see themselves personalizing the house with their pictures.

-Make sure kitchen  and dinning areas are clean. No dishes in the sink, remove all food and food items from counter tops.

– Make sure any visible damage is fixed before showing your house.

-Unpleasant Odor

Nothing turn off potential buyers like unpleasant odor.  Now let’s define unpleasant odor- any odor that is offensive to any buyer is unpleasant. The odor may not be offensive to the sellers, but it can be offensive to buyers. Examples are ethnic food odors, pet odors. Sellers need to make sure they do everything possible to remove odors, using neutral odor neutralizer. During summer seller may want to have windows open for fresh air and circulation.

– Unwilling to Negotiate:

Being stuck on certain price. The amount a buyer is willing to pay for a house is the worth of the house, not the amount a seller owes or the amount the seller has to net.

– Unwilling to Make Repairs:

When sellers are unwilling or unable to make necessary repairs  buyers will not be willing to make an offer as well. I advise my sellers before we put house in the market we need to repair things that are very visible and known defects. Simple things go a long way, like changing loose door knobs, repairing damage walls to updating the kitchen to make it appeal to buyers.