Thursday, December 7, 2017 / by Geoffrey Zahler
Why Your Home May NOT Sell - Pitfalls to Avoid
Good Thursday to you all,
Wanted to touch on a subject I discussed on our #ZahlerProperties Facebook Live show from yesterday. It's a topic that can be a little uncomfortable, especially in a hot market like the Las Vegas area - and that's reasons a home may not sell. There are a few KEY items, and several smaller nuances, but all can be brought back to the 3 major items.
PRICE:
Duh. If a home is severely over-priced, the property will probably not sell. What is severely overpriced? I say that anything priced more than 9% above the comparable sales is treading in that territory. While your home may have upgrades that others do not, you're now getting into a price range, above and beyond what other homes that are similar have sold for, that will turn a potential real buyer away from maybe even seeing the home. Pricing matters. We do realize that homes are continuously going up in value - on average of about 0.8% per month here in Las Vegas over 2017, so a home that sold a few months ago SHOULD sell for less. But if you have the same lot size, same model, same finishes, and one sold for $300,000 last month - guess what, you're home is NOT worth $350,000! Pricing a home competitively, even on a slightly higher level, is the key to this game. If you want to try and push the threshold, that makes sense, but going TOO high can turn would be buyers off from even looking at the home.
Exposure:
This is more about an Agent's ability to get your home in front of as many people as possible. If you're trying to sell your home as a For Sale By Owner, this part of the job is even more difficult for you. As a FSBO, you're limited to the number of websites YOU want to post the home to, upload pictures to, and write descriptions. Plus, you don't end up in the biggest database of them all, our Local MLS - which has over 15,000 agents, who all have clients. Plus, a proper Broker (myself included) will have the ability to syndicate and "BLAST" your home automatically to hundreds of websites, including Zillow, Realtor.com (through ListHub), Trulia, etc etc etc. Exposure is something that very few people think about. I always tell my selling clients "we only need ONE buyer, but my job is to get as many, qualified, interested buyers into see this house." More eyeballs = more interest = more demand = higher sales price! If you have an audience of one, guess what, it's not nearly as competitive as if you had several interested, informed, and qualified buyers looking at the property. Supply and Demand. Exposure, in the Real Estate market, helps increase Demand.
Accessibility:
This is the third, and often overlooked portion of this cycle of why a home may not sell. It can be priced perfectly, it can be in front of thousands of potential buyers, but the fact of matter is, if your property is difficult to see, you will turn buyers away. We know that it can be tough, especially if you are living in a home, but if you are limiting showings to set time of day, weekends only, or even not allowing a showing, you will eliminate a portion of the buyers that would be interested in your home. Everyone has a schedule of course, and we understand that, but the more limiting you are on the availability for buyers to see the home, the harder it will be to match your home up with that perfect buyer. If you own investment property and have an unruly tenant and are trying to sell - remember that tenant may be a hindrance. Sometimes its best, if possible, to finish a lease and then try and sell. The home will be more accommodating without the disruption of a tenant.
So that's the PEA method - keeping these in mind will give you a far higher chance of success on selling your home. If you have any questions, please let us know!
Until next time...
Geoff Zahler
Wanted to touch on a subject I discussed on our #ZahlerProperties Facebook Live show from yesterday. It's a topic that can be a little uncomfortable, especially in a hot market like the Las Vegas area - and that's reasons a home may not sell. There are a few KEY items, and several smaller nuances, but all can be brought back to the 3 major items.
PRICE:
Duh. If a home is severely over-priced, the property will probably not sell. What is severely overpriced? I say that anything priced more than 9% above the comparable sales is treading in that territory. While your home may have upgrades that others do not, you're now getting into a price range, above and beyond what other homes that are similar have sold for, that will turn a potential real buyer away from maybe even seeing the home. Pricing matters. We do realize that homes are continuously going up in value - on average of about 0.8% per month here in Las Vegas over 2017, so a home that sold a few months ago SHOULD sell for less. But if you have the same lot size, same model, same finishes, and one sold for $300,000 last month - guess what, you're home is NOT worth $350,000! Pricing a home competitively, even on a slightly higher level, is the key to this game. If you want to try and push the threshold, that makes sense, but going TOO high can turn would be buyers off from even looking at the home.
Exposure:
This is more about an Agent's ability to get your home in front of as many people as possible. If you're trying to sell your home as a For Sale By Owner, this part of the job is even more difficult for you. As a FSBO, you're limited to the number of websites YOU want to post the home to, upload pictures to, and write descriptions. Plus, you don't end up in the biggest database of them all, our Local MLS - which has over 15,000 agents, who all have clients. Plus, a proper Broker (myself included) will have the ability to syndicate and "BLAST" your home automatically to hundreds of websites, including Zillow, Realtor.com (through ListHub), Trulia, etc etc etc. Exposure is something that very few people think about. I always tell my selling clients "we only need ONE buyer, but my job is to get as many, qualified, interested buyers into see this house." More eyeballs = more interest = more demand = higher sales price! If you have an audience of one, guess what, it's not nearly as competitive as if you had several interested, informed, and qualified buyers looking at the property. Supply and Demand. Exposure, in the Real Estate market, helps increase Demand.
Accessibility:
This is the third, and often overlooked portion of this cycle of why a home may not sell. It can be priced perfectly, it can be in front of thousands of potential buyers, but the fact of matter is, if your property is difficult to see, you will turn buyers away. We know that it can be tough, especially if you are living in a home, but if you are limiting showings to set time of day, weekends only, or even not allowing a showing, you will eliminate a portion of the buyers that would be interested in your home. Everyone has a schedule of course, and we understand that, but the more limiting you are on the availability for buyers to see the home, the harder it will be to match your home up with that perfect buyer. If you own investment property and have an unruly tenant and are trying to sell - remember that tenant may be a hindrance. Sometimes its best, if possible, to finish a lease and then try and sell. The home will be more accommodating without the disruption of a tenant.
So that's the PEA method - keeping these in mind will give you a far higher chance of success on selling your home. If you have any questions, please let us know!
Until next time...
Geoff Zahler
