Why isn't your house selling?

As we all know, the massive mess that certain countries have made of their economy is affecting us here in New Zealand too. But life circumstances dictate that people will always have to sell and buy houses.

If your house has been on the market for some time and not sold, it will more than likely be due to one of the following factors.

1)    Your home is overpriced

This is the biggest culprit these days. Even though the market is depressed, you think your house is special and hope to find the person who loves it as much as you do and will pay over the top for it. This, unfortunately, happens extremely rarely but perhaps you know of one case when it did and you cling onto this possibility with a bare-knuckled grip. And so the house doesn’t sell and you start looking for something or someone to blame. The truth is the buyer dictates the price. Fullstop. 

Also, be careful that you don’t overprice your home to test the market or you could lose all the people who would have paid market price for it. Eventually it will get stuck with the stigma of being the house that hasn’t sold and people will worry that if it hasn’t sold this time around, then what happens when they go to sell it later. They could have the same problem of no one wanting it.

2)   Presentation

There is always the chance that the price is right but the presentation lacks inspiration. Many people have little vision as to what a home could look like and need it spelt out for them. No one wants to see all your personal belongings hanging about and that included family photos and mementos. They want to imagine themselves living in there and can’t do that if they are distracted by lots of unnecessary paraphernalia. Many houses have about double the furniture and belongings needed to create a comfortable home. So, clean, paint and de-clutter.

3)    Marketing

You have spent next to nothing on marketing your home and refuse to do open homes. In other words, the sale of your house has remained a secret. An agent can only do so much without a marketing campaign to reel the buyers in. True, they can try their database first and that’s a good idea, but if a buyer doesn’t pop up from the database, then it’s time for a full out campaign to get the property as much exposure as possible. Only then can you be sure that every potential purchaser has seen it.