The Top 3 Reasons Your Home Isn’t Selling Even Though the Market is HOT
At this point, everyone with even a passing interest in real estate is well aware that getting a property under contract in this market takes a knockout offer, some serious negotiating, and all of the good luck you’ve got.
Why is it then that some properties are sitting on the market for weeks and months on end?
The simplest answer is that if your property isn’t selling quickly, you’ve got a problem with the price, the condition, or with some combination of the two.
When it comes to price, the best strategy for the majority of properties in this market is to go on just under market value to attract the maximum number of buyers. When you increase your buyer pool you encourage supply and demand to do its thing. This is where we see bidding wars happening.
Currently in Orlando there are multiple offers on 66% of properties that come on the market. That’s huge. In the decade-plus we’ve been in real estate we experienced maybe 3-5 multiple offer scenarios per year. Now, we’re experiencing multiple offers on over 90% of our transactions.
Where you enter the market matters – if you price it right you can be closed and moving on in a matter of weeks. Price it too high and you may see your property sitting for months before you even see a single offer.
Sidenote – we’ve also seen a few situations where a property that’s worth $305,000 has been listed for $300,000, gone under contract at $310,000 with multiple offers, fallen out of contract and then come back on the market at $310,000 only to sit for weeks and ultimately accept an offer at or below the original list price of $300,000. Don’t let this be you!
Property is not worth what you want it to be worth. It’s worth whatever the market values it at. An experienced agent can help you interpret the market and set a competitive price.
Now let’s talk about condition. Condition applies in a few ways here. First, what’s the condition of your marketing?
As in how do your marketing materials compare to other properties on the market? Did your realtor hire a professional photographer and videographer? Do you have a narrated virtual tour of your home? Is there a clear and vivid written description of your property included in the marketing? Has your realtor helped you prepare an improvements and features list to support the price?
For TOO MANY properties, the answer is no and that hurts you. You may be wasting your time with buyers who aren’t serious and miss out of ones who are. Serious buyers are not going to see every property on the market. They’re going to see the ones that match their criteria. If it’s not clear that your property matches, you could be losing out on buyers!
Plus, you’ve heard it said a million times and it really is true; you only have one chance to make a first impression. Buyers and agents make assumptions about the condition of your property based on the way it reads in the marketing. Sub-par photos, a dis-jointed flow, and incomplete descriptions do you a disservice.
The message you want to send out is “I take care of my property and it’s worth every penny.” You do that by hiring a realtor who knows the value of marketing and is willing to put the money into doing it properly.
Another condition you need to consider is the condition of your property. It’s imperative for negotiations that you know how to fill out your disclosures correctly so that you don’t have buyers coming back to you after inspections asking for concessions.
Post-inspection negotiations are what tend to blow deals up. A well-filled out seller’s disclosure can save you a lot of headache and thousands of dollars in negotiations. Your agent should help you strategize how to use improvements you’ve already made and understand how to disclose pertinent information to best protect yourself and your deal.
If you find yourself sitting on the market, it’s time for a check-in with yourself and your agent. The key questions are: how am I priced? How is my marketing? And how is the condition? Make the right tweaks and you’ll see your property moving in no time.
Enjoyed these insights and looking forward to more?
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Steven Ritz, Buyer Specialist - Call 321-277-8271 or email here
Linda Sitek, Listing Specialist - Call 407-963-6544 or email here
Brought to you by Abode at Keller Williams Winter Park Realty
