Sunday, June 15, 2008

Business Portal

Business Portal

Why Your Home May Not Sell

Posted: 14 Jun 2008 12:54 PM CDT


Has your home been on the market for too long? If you just can’t seem to sell your home, there may be a few things that you are overlooking.

Nothing is more frustrating than a home that just won’t sell. There are many reasons why a home may not have selling potential, but most of these reasons can be easily fixed. Still, sometimes a home just won’t sell due to the current market state. If the current housing market is in a slump (as it is at the moment), you can expect your home to sit on the market for awhile. If the time seems right, and other homes in your area are selling like hot cakes, there may be something else that is turning away potential buyers.

To start, you may not have looked at your home objectively enough the first time around. Even though you may think that you fixed up everything possible, some minor details may be getting in the way of a successful home sale. Look around your home - better yet, have a neighbor look around your home - and determine whether or not your home is up to par. Are there cracks in your walls? Are there too many family portraits and other knick knacks around your house? If all of these things seem to be in good shape, you may want to take a look in the mirror.

Are you a good salesperson? Are you aggressive, rude, and somewhat antsy because you have followed one too many potential buyers around your house once to often? If you think that you play the part of a perfect host, have a friend come into your home and act as though you were trying to sell it to them. Soon enough, your friend will tell you what you are doing wrong. If you (and your friend) cannot find anything wrong with your open house approach, perhaps it is all a matter of price.

Homeowners tend to list their homes well above a reasonable asking price. Why do people do this? Well, for one, your home is important to you, so you think that it is worth quite a bit of money. Check out the other homes in your area, and see whether or not your asking price is far above comparable homes. It may hurt your ego slightly, but you might have to lower that price. Most homes are sold due to the listing price, and everything else is simply an afterthought.

There is always a reason why a home won’t sell, and most of the time this reason is staring you directly in the face. Go over your home’s details, ask a friend to help you out (objectively), and try to determine whether your list price is reasonable.

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