Why isn’t my home selling?

…is it even showing? I talk with dozens of sellers each year that ask me the same question, Why isn’t my home selling? There’s never one specific reason but there is always an underlying cause, bad advice or worse yet, no advice at all. Here in Concord North Carolina, REALTORS sold 23 homes, just last week, with prices from 61,000 to over half a million. There is no secret recipe to selling every home out there because each home has special needs individual to that particular property. The Real Estate Market is funny like that. What would be great for a country home with a lot of property, like building a fence, wouldn’t be such a great idea for a cluster community home which has a small back yard. That’s a more obvious example but it can get a lot more detailed, and marketing success –it’s in the details. Then, of course, there’s the advertising that’s driving buyers to your door. It should be clear what’s great about your home, original in composure, and the pictures must be top of the line, especially if your home is top of the line itself. One of my worst frustrations in this business is to see poor photography of a million dollar property. Or even a quarter-million dollar one. To be honest- it really doesn’t matter how much it costs, it still astounds me just how bad photos can be on at least half the listings in the MLS. With the overwhelming majority of buyers finding their home on the Internet, photos are the key selling tool of today’s REALTOR. Not text, or community relationships, not even experience (although experience can save you once you do get a buyer). It’s the pictures, virtual tours, video tours, and other cool semi-interactive features that really showcase your home. And if you don’t have it, you might as well be invisible. But you’ll notice, I didn’t start this post by talking about advertising. You can have the advertising powerhouse of prime-time Television and bring a million buyers to the door but once they get there, your home has to be the best in the market at its current price or they’ll go with another- every single time. Buyers are smart, and frugal when making a large purchase decision. They spend days, weeks, or months studing your neighborhood on the Internet. A lot is now available and many times, the buyer himself knows more about the neighborhood you live in than you do, or sometimes, even more than their own buyer’s agent! You need to know what your competition is, and how to beat it. This doesn’t always mean lowering your price, and it doesn’t mean you have to spend a lot of money on improvements either. Many times, what you can do is virtually free and can be accomplished over a weekend or two. A good REALTOR will provide you with a detailed cleaning/staging list so you’ll have a roadmap to success. If you have any questions regarding your home’s specific needs or need any further suggestions, please visit my site www.LambRealtors.com or simply post a reply. Talk to ya later!