Why Didn't my home Sell?

1. Inexperienced Agent. All agents are not created equal. – there’s even a difference between an “agent” and a “Realtor®”, but I digress. I hear a lot of agents playing the “resume game”. They tout their ten, twenty, thirty years in the business, by themselves or with large teams, thinking that years licensed equals guaranteed sales. Unfortunately, that math equation doesn’t always add up. According to the National Association of Realtors® (NAR), Realtors® completed an average of 12 “sides” in 2019. Transaction “sides” are not a strict measure of sellers’ homes sold. An agent earns a transaction “side” when they help a seller sell, a buyer buy, or a tenant rent, and each of those types of transactions are VERY different. If we assume an agent’s production is 50% buyer sides and 50% seller sides, with an occasional tenant thrown in for good measure, the average Realtor® would sell an estimated four to six homes per year. With the lack of volume under their belt, it is unlikely that they have a sufficient advertising budget, can afford a highly effective marketing campaign, have the finances necessary for professional coaching, have the experience to know what the best list price is to attract the highest offers in the least amount of time and, the savviness to negotiate in order to make sure that you come out ahead.

2. Hopeful Marketing. Slamming a sign in the ground and hoping the home sells is an awful sales strategy. When the market was good, a lot of agents were taking their foot off the gas pedal in regards to marketing. Today’s market is VASTLY different from the market we were in just a few months ago. While the “buyer pool” isn’t as deep as it used to be, the right agent can still sell your home FAST and FOR TOP DOLLAR. All of the efforts that a high caliber agent does during a “normal” market just have to be quadrupled during a market in transition – a larger budget, smarter marketing, and skills sharp enough to make a swordsmith weep!

3. Poor List Price Strategy. Too many times, I see a poor list price game plan. The agent either lists the home too low, promising the seller that they’ll get more money and they don’t; or, they list the home too high, the market shows no interest, and the property just sits while other homes in the neighborhood sell. In scenario one, the home may sell quickly, however, it’s not selling for top dollar. In the second scenario, not only does the home sit while the other area homes sell, but perspective buyers start to think to themselves, “What’s wrong with that home that has been sitting while all of the others are selling…?”