The home is still on the market after the Special Kickoff Weekend. There were several visitors to the home and plenty of interest in the property ꟷ but no takers. What did we do wrong? Nothing!
It’s common in today’s market for homes to go unsold for weeks, unlike 2018 when a house or condo could have received multiple offers within days of the first open house. In many cases now, buyers are taking their time to shop for the right property at the right price. They may return a second or even a third time to have a look at the home and the surrounding area – or they move on to the next listing.
Fear not! If it’s showcased well and priced right, the home will sell. Yes, your listing agent will suggest adjustments – paint the front door or replace the old mailbox, for example. And perhaps it’s worth rethinking the marketing plan to expand the potential audience. If the listing only includes photos, maybe it’s time to think about creating a video of the exteriors or a special 360-degree walkthrough of the home. Every little bit helps in the promotion of the listing.
As your listing agent, I will continue to show the home each weekend and consider holding open houses on weekdays and evenings to capture more interested parties. I would also share the listing with more of my broker associates/friends in hopes of drumming up additional interest. Week One or Week Four, I will work to promote and sell your home every day.
The most important time period for a new listing is the first three weeks. That’s because there is the before-mentioned backlog of buyers, who are typically about 10 times the number of new buyers just starting their search. Statistics show about 35% of all listings sell in the first month, so we are still on schedule.
Not to inject too much of a dark cloud on the topic but there are other factors outside of our control that could impact buyer sentiment. Those forces could include severe weather or natural disasters that cause an economic and human toll, major tax or legislative changes that impact consumer confidence, or a rise in unemployment that raises concerns among employees in certain industry sectors. Obviously, the market could look different months after having our initial talk about pricing the home.
More realistically, homes can sit on the market for several weeks – mostly because of price. Buyers can overlook a home that needs minor or cosmetic repairs if it’s priced right but not if they see other properties that compare much better than yours.
That’s why, after about a month on the market, we would have a heart-to-heart discussion to adjust the price and consider other seller concessions to get the home sold. But, let’s not go there. We are going to sell this home soon!