Pinetop White Mountain Blog

Good Afternoon Everyone,

If you have had your home on the market for quite a while and it hasn't sold you are probably getting very frustrated and want to know why no one wants your home.

There are many reasons why a home doesn't sell but today I am going to touch on just a few of the most common.

1)  Price is probably the most important factor in the failure for a home to sell in today's market. 

With the Real Estate Market in a state of flux, price is about the only thing Buyers are looking at.  Most markets are still in decline and that means that the price you put on the house six months ago is probably too high today. 

I encourage my sellers to list their homes at between 5 & 10% below what the comps show because in a month or two that is probably what the home is going to be worth.  Remember the Foreclosure and Short Sale market is still going strong and those homes are selling between 20 & 30% below actual market value. 

2) Condition is another factor that is important to Buyers in today's market.

Are there deferred maintenance issues with your home that you know should be handled but you just haven't wanted to bother since you were planning to sell anyway? 

In today's market the Buyers are looking to get the most home for their money and the one that requires the least amount of work.  In our White Mountain market many of our buyers are Second Home Buyers and they want a home that is move-in ready because they will only be using the home on weekends, vacations, & Holiday.  They want to come to the Mountain to play, not to work on a house. 

If you know there are things that should be taken care of you should do them now, it is just one more selling point your Agent can use to market our property and build value to justify your pricing.  (See item 1)

3) Location.  I know you can't do anything about where your home is located but look around you and notice what is happening in your neighborhood.  Are there a lot of vacant and abandoned looking homes.  Are your neighbors less than neat?

This may sound obvious but we all see our home as our castle and we tend to become accustomed to what is around us and don't realize how much the condition of a neighborhood affects value.  You may not be able to do anything about how your neighborhood looks or feels, but  you can price yours to still be appealing to a Buyer.  Any home will sell at the right price because there is a buyer for every home.  Again it comes down to pricing right.  (See item 1)

4) Declutter and Depersonalize the property. 

Your objective when selling your home is to make it appealing to a Buyer and staging the home so that they can see it as their home.  Too many personal items or family photos are a distraction when Buyers are looking at a home.  They tend to get bogged down looking at the rogues gallery in the hallway or personal items that may not be to their taste, and the next thing you know they are ready to move on without ever having really looked at the house. 

I have had sellers get offended by my telling them this because they think the buyers should be able to see past their things to the house.  Well yes, they should, but many times that just doesn't happen.  The best agent can't get a buyer to see a home as a home when there is too much personal memorabilia cluttering up the home. 

That said, there is no magic formula in today's market that will guarantee you a buyer. 

The best agent can't make someone look at your house if there isn't a buyer out there looking for it.  Buyers are still pretty focused on finding the best "DEAL" not necessarily the "BEST HOUSE".  They aren't terribly motivated and with the expiration of the Tax Credits at the end of April, any First Time Buyers now do not have anything pushing them to move.  They can afford to wait for the right house at the right price and they will, it is simple as that.

If you would like an evaluation of your home and how to best market it in today's market, I will be happy to sit down with you an talk about it.  There is never any obligation it is a free service I provide.

Give me a call, I'm happy to help any way I can.

SANDRA PAULOW, ASSOCIATE BROKER, GRI, SFR  (928) 242-0300

Your High Country Connection for Real Estate.