Last Updated on September 2, 2022
In many areas, there’s typically a 30 day rule for selling your house.
This means that from the first day your put your house on the market, the goal is to have an offer from a buyer within 30 days. In line with this goal, the latest data from realtor.com shows that in August 2020, homes spent an average of 56 days on the market (from listing to closing).
If your house has been on the market longer than this time period (depending on the location), there might be problems other than overpricing that are preventing your home from selling in a reasonable amount of time.
Here are 5 surprising reasons why your home may not be selling.
You have property damage
Let’s say you’ve renovated the interior of your home: you installed new appliances, added a fresh coat of paint, and switched from shag carpet to hardwood floors throughout. But have you maintained your property? If there is even a touch of mold (or the possibility of it) buyers are immediately turned off.
A mold problem can cause major health issues and are often costly to fix. This is an immediate red flag for buyers. Other issues like dampness throughout a house or rotting windows are turn offs, which send buyers running in the other direction.
To avoid this situation, make sure to get your home inspected by a trusted inspector before putting your home on the market. And if your home is already on the market, try to fix these damages ASAP to help get it on the right track to getting sold.
Related reading: Is a pre-listing inspection right for you?
Online marketing is sparse
Today, most potential buyers start their home search online. If your home is not marketed properly online, buyers will often overlook your house as a contender in their search.
Make sure you have professional, high-quality pictures posted to accentuate your home’s best features. Pixelated, dark, and blurry photos make great spaces appear uninspiring.
In addition to photography, it’s important for potential buyers to have accessibility to your home. Not hosting open houses or allowing your real estate agent to host house tours for buyers cuts down on your chances of people putting in an offer on your house.
Buyers want to see your home in person so they can visualize the space and imagine themselves living there.
Another marketing strategy to keep in mind is to make sure your house is clean, decluttered, and staged. Clean and open spaces are attractive to buyers. Staging helps buyers visualize themselves in your space and imagine the possibilities of your home. If you’ve already moved out and your home is empty, you might consider virtually staging key rooms.
Your home is too “unique”
Maybe your home has slanted ceilings in the living room that make the space cramped. Or maybe your floor plan has the kitchen and dining room on opposite ends of the house.
Whatever special additions come with your house, just because you love the unique features you built in your home, doesn’t mean that potential buyers will. These super unique details can be hard for buyers to imagine themselves living in.
If your home isn’t selling, ask your realtor if any of your home’s features could be putting buyers off. If there are any major concerns, consider doing some renovations to update your space.
No curb appeal
First impressions are everything in real estate. If the outside of your house has not been given love and care to make it look nice, then often buyers won’t put in much effort into seeing what the rest of your home has to offer them.
If this is the case as to why your home isn’t selling, add some fresh mulch, plant a few flowers, edge your lawn, or update your front door. These fixes are on the cheaper side, but add major curb appeal points and have a high ROI payoff.
Remodeling HW’s 2019 cost versus value statistics estimate updating your front door has an 80% ROI while replacing siding (which costs approximately $16,800) has a twelve thousand dollar return. And replacing wood windows has increased in ROI at 70.8%.
You don’t have the right real estate agent
The right real estate agent can make or break the home selling process. Often times, the biggest clue that your agent isn’t doing their job is lack of communication.
Especially if you rarely, if ever, get communication from your realtor about feedback from potential buyers, have a hard time tracking down your agent, or notice they take long amounts of time to get back with you, it might be time to find new representation.
Likewise, if your agent hasn’t done the necessary leg work to price your home appropriately, or you notice there’s a complete lack of social presence for your property, maybe it’s time to have a conversation with your Realtor.
