Why Is My House Not Selling? (Candid Truth From an Expert)

Selling a house fast and for the highest net profit is the goal of any prospective home seller. It costs money to keep your house on the market, especially if you’ve already purchased a new home.

If your home has been on the market for more than 30 days is, it may be getting stale. The longer you let your listing sit, the harder it will be to sell. Let's review the sobering reasons why your home isn't selling.

Reasons Your House is Not Selling

If your home has only been on the market for a 2-3 weeks, don't panic yet. Depending on your location, this may be normal. However, if your home has been on the market for 2-3 months and you've had zero offers, it may be time to pivot and try something new. To get traction with your listing, consider these 5 reasons your home might not be selling.

1. Your House Needs Updates

One of the most common reasons a house will sit on the market without selling is that it isn’t comparing well to others in the same price range. So, it might be that you need to spend some money on improvements before you can expect to interest serious buyers.

That said, it might not be obvious which aspects of your home need the most attention. Consider Remodeling magazine’s “Cost vs. Value Report” of which home-improvement projects carry the best ROIs. Here are some of the most popular options:

Garage Door Replacement
Entry Door Replacement
Deck or Patio Remodel or Addition
Minor Kitchen Remodel
Siding Replacement
Window Replacement
Bath Remodel or Addition
Roof Replacement

If any of these are areas where you think your house may currently be struggling, it’s worth considering the investment to improve it.

2. Your Home is Overpriced

Your house may not compare well to other options in the same price range simply because those houses have more rooms, square footage, are in more desirable neighborhoods, or a whole host of other reasons you can’t do much about.

In that case, you have to rethink your asking price.

This is never an easy step and, understandably, it’s usually one that sellers try to avoid at all costs. No one wants to accept that they’ll have to take less for their house. Pride can even come into play. After all, you probably think very highly of your home and for good reason.

If you didn’t originally have one done, now would be the time to get a comparative market analysis (CMA). This report will tell you how much other homes like yours have recently sold for in the area. It will give you a much better idea of what price you should be listing your home at.

3. The Listing Photos Stink or Staging is Needed

What if your house doesn’t need any upgrades and the CMA comes back to support your asking price?

In that case, it may be the your digital listing that’s falling short. It might be that your listing isn’t encouraging much interest in potential buyers. This is especially true if it’s a buyer’s market as your listing is competing with others for a much smaller pool of house hunters.

The first place to start would be reviewing the photos of your house that you’ve included in the listing. It’s impossible to understate their importance when it comes to attracting interest in your home. Lastly, selling a vacant or messy home can be a distraction to buyers. Professional staging can pay dividends and prevent your home from sitting on the market.

Finally, there’s the actual real-estate listing description. Make sure the "bio" of the property is appealing as possible.

4. Your Real Estate Agent Is the Problem

Finally, if none of the three reasons above are responsible for your house not selling, the only other explanation is that your real estate agent isn’t doing their job.

Ask them why they think your house has been on the market for so long. If they can’t give you a reason that’s backed by data (e.g. the market just took a turn for the worse), then you should probably start looking for new representation.

At SimpleShowing, our agents handle more transactions than the typical agent, so they have a better pulse on the current market. Best of all, SimpleShowing offers the same full service as a big brokerage for a 1% listing fee.

5. High Inventory or Interest Rates

High interest rates can deter buyers from entering the market and have recently become a challenge to home sellers as of 2022. Sellers can offer incentives to help with mortgage points, which lower the homebuyer's interest rate.

Lastly, if inventory in your area is high, this might be the culprit for your home not selling. More competition means more options for buyers. Unfortunately, this is an issue that is not possible to control as a home seller. However, you can selectively decide when to enter the market based on the inventory levels in your area.

Conclusion

Your house selling experience can be significantly impacted by a number of key factors. Understanding the dynamics of the local real estate market, along with having a competitive listing price that aligns with your home's market value, is crucial to garner interest from prospective home buyers.

Finally, remember that real estate professionals are your allies in this journey. Selling a house can be complex, but with the right team, the process becomes much more manageable. If your house isn't selling, don't despair. Take into consideration the factors discussed in this article: make sure your listing price is in line with the market value, enhance your home's curb appeal and most importantly, collaborate with a seasoned local real estate agent. These strategies can help ensure that your real estate transaction will be a success.