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Avoid the mistakes you made the first time around!
It’s
happened! Your listing is about
to expire and your home hasn’t
sold. The initial listing period
agreed upon by you and your real
estate agent is up and you're
disappointed, frustrated and
wondering what to do next. Stay
calm; it’s not the end of the
world! There are strategies that
can help you sell your home.
For
starters, don¹t panic. You
aren't alone! In sluggish real
estate markets as many as
one-third to one-half of the
listings may expire unsold.
There are things you can do to
make sure your home sells the
next time around.
Revisit
your decision to sell.
Why did you initially decide to
list your home? Are those
reasons still valid? If you
really don’t want to sell and
move this could be affecting
your attitude to the whole
process, including the price you
are asking and the offer you
will accept.
If you have no choice but to
sell because of job or personal
situation, now is the time to
make a renewed commitment to do
what it takes to market your
house effectively. As Dale
Carnegie teaches, there are no
problems, only situations, and
the key is to turn the situation
into an opportunity.
Renew
or go elsewhere?
As your listing nears its expiry
you can expect to be approached
by other real estate agents
seeking to take on your home.
Depending on circumstances and
your relationship with your
current agent you might decide
to renew your listing with the
same person or list with a new
agent. It’s up to you, but
now’s the time to decide!
Review
the big 4 - Communication -
Price - Condition - Marketing
The
reason your real estate isn't
selling might have nothing to do
with the property itself but be
may be due to other factors.
It’s less stressful when you
understand exactly what may be
contributing to the situation.
1.
Communication - make sure your
real estate agent keeps you
"in the loop"!
Talk
to your Agent.
Set up a meeting to discuss the
situation frankly. This is where
you determine if you are
satisfied with the level of
service from your agent. You can
also find out if your agent has
concerns that you should
address.
Inattention to a listing on the
part of your agent can be a
factor, but there's usually mo
re to it than that. Ask your
real estate agent why he thinks
there was no sale. What did
prospective buyers say about the
price and condition of your
home? What feedback did other
agents offer your agent? If
there are recurring issues that
other agents or prospects have
mentioned, be prepared to deal
with them.
Make
a plan!
Decide what needs to be done to
make your home easy to
advertise, easy to show and easy
to sell. It could be as simple
as making sure the For Sale sign
is in good condition and lists
all the incentives you’re
offering to having a lockbox
that offers agents access to
your home. Talk about it.
Keep in touch. Make sure
your agent keeps in touch with
you so you can tell them about
new-on-the-market competition or
changes in your neighborhood or
property condition that could
affect your property’s
salability. If you have made
improvements to the home since
it first went on the market be
sure to tell your agent so they
can tell other agents and update
the advertising information.
Keep
an eye on the housing market. Tell
your agent you expect them to
keep you informed as to changing
market conditions and other
factors affecting the sale of
your home. You can then come up
with a teamwork approach to
implementing an effective
marketing plan.
Talk
to yourself.
Ask yourself it you have done
your part? Is the house in
tip-top shape at all times and
have you been flexible about
showing it at times convenient
to buyers? Remember, any
prospect could be the buyer
you’ve been waiting for.
2.
Price - review it with your
agent!
Price
is the most common reason for
the lack of a sale. Rule
of thumb - the correct selling
price is the highest price the
market will bear. Be realistic,
not emotional, about the value
of your property. Unfortunately,
depending on current conditions,
what you paid for your home and
how much you have spent on it is
often irrelevant to the price
you can sell it for.
Keep in mind that market
conditions may have changed
substantially since you first
listed your home so it may be a
whole new ballgame. Homes will
have sold, additional homes have
come on the market and mortgage
rates may have moved up or down.
These factors will all affect
the price you can ask for your
home! Your agent should be on
top of this information, ask
them.
Get
familiar with the BIG picture. You
need to know if there have been
changes in general local or
national economic conditions.
Has there been a mass layoff in
a major local industry with no
prospect of a return to work
anytime soon? Is a major new
business about to move into
town? Is good or bad economic
news affecting consumer
confidence provincially and
nationally? These factors will
all affect the housing market.
Again, a good real estate agent
will be on top of this and
should share the information
readily with you.
Analyze
the market. Ask
your agent for an up-to-date,
competitive market analysis and
a review of recently sold homes
and houses currently for sale
that are similar to yours. An
effective strategy is to set
your price below other expired
listings and overpriced listings
that have been on the market for
a long time. Your price should
be set to selling prices of
comparable homes, not to asking
prices. Remember that most
people don't like to dicker.
Don’t you like to know the
bottom line? How your house
compares to others offered for
sale today will indicate if your
price is right and whether your
terms and financial incentives
are competitive.
How
do you know you’re overpriced?
Activity
without offers often indicates
overpricing. If lots of people
are looking at your home but
you’ve had no serious offers,
discuss your price with your
agent. Any house, no matter what
condition, will sell for the
right price. What price is
"right" depends on
market conditions, competition
and the condition of your home.
3.
Condition - What makes you stand
out in the crowd?
Are
you clean and neat? Ask
your agent to supply an
objective opinion. Have you done
everything reasonable to make
your home appealing to someone
else? Does the outside of your
home invite the buyers to have a
look inside? Once inside, are
they going to love it? A house
that’s all ready for someone
to "just move right
in" invites a sale. Your
home should be clean and
uncluttered with all minor
repairs taken care of, right
down to replacing burned out
light bulbs.
Neutral
décor? Have
you and your agent discussed
decorating allowances? You can
paint over the chartreuse you
love with something more neutral
or you can offer a decorating
allowance so the buyers can
repaint the chartreuse
themselves. The same goes for
replacing that old rug or orange
shag carpeting. Your agent can
advise you.
Eliminate
surprises.
Your agent might suggest having
a home inspection done. If the
inspection turns up something
ugly, you can repair it yourself
or adjust the price accordingly.
And you can provide the
inspection to prospective
buyers, bonus! Listen to the
comments from other real estate
agents and prospective clients
and be prepared to act
accordingly.
4.
Marketing - you won’t leave
your home without it!
It
takes more than just a newspaper
ad to sell a house. "Advertising
doesn't sell houses, agents
do," is a common saying.
But, does your agent have a
carefully crafted marketing plan
to expose your property to the
widest possible number of
prospective buyers? And are you
willing to participate with them
in marketing your home?.
Selling
to OTHER AGENTS! That’s
right, other agents! "In
order to sell a home once, it
must be sold twice", that
means once to other agents and
finally to the buyer. Lots of
other agents need to see your
home so they can add it to the
inventory of homes that they
show their clients. Marketing
strategies can include direct
contact with other agents and
brokers through special tours,
flyers and brochures and open
houses.
Marketing
your home to THE BUYERS! To
sell your home you have to show
your home to potential buyers
and that means they have to know
you’re there! Marketing your
home should include listing on
an area-wide computer network
and advertising in various media
from the local news paper to
cable TV. What about electronic
mailings, a virtual tour of your
home, a voice-interactive system
to provide 24x7 information on
your property? Is your agent
using direct mail or classified
advertising, or both? Perhaps a
new round of open houses is
needed.
Is
your agent doing his
"homework"?
Your agent should be proactive!
They should network, network,
network with other agents. They
should also approach former
contacts that have been in to
their office in the past to talk
about buying a home.
In
Conclusion:
These
are the main reasons why a
listing is withdrawn by the
owner or expires without a sale,
which ones apply to YOU?
1.
Problems with either the real
estate agent or the seller, or
the combination of the two-
-
the
seller was not really
motivated to SELL (didn’t
really want to sell so did
not listen to advice about
the condition of the home,
or was unrealistic about
price)!
-
the
agent was not sufficiently
motivated to sell (too busy,
works for a large firm so no
time for personalized
service, the property was
small potatoes to them)
-
the
agent didn’t do their
homework and was not up to
date on the market and
trends in your area.
-
the
owner and the agent didn’t
communicate with each other
(both have information that
is vital to the marketing of
the home).
-
lack
of trust between seller and
agent
2.
Problems with the property -
-
the
home needs structural
modifications, they
weren’t done and no
allowance was made in the
price.
-
the
home needs a décor update,
this was not done and there
was no "paint ‘n
paper" allowance
offered to prospective
buyers.
-
the
home was not always in
"tip top" shape
for showing.
-
the
neighborhood is not
attractive to buyers. (Not a
whole lot you can do about
this one - other than lower
your price accordingly!)
3.
Price! Price! Price! -
4.
Marketing was ineffective -
They
say the second time is a charm!
Review your price and work with
your agent to determine a
marketing strategy. Then get
your home in Tip Top condition
so it’s irresistible. When
your home is
"buyer-ready," renew
the listing and watch it sell.
Additional
Information:
Other Special reports you may be
interested in:
1. Selling
Mistakes. Common mistakes and
how to avoid them.
2. Selling
Your Home. How to stand out in
the crowd. |
