WHY DIDN’T MY HOME SELL?

Unpopular opinion: Agents didn’t sell homes the past few years in our HOT Florida market…THE MARKET DID.  Honestly, most of the “negotiating” listing agents had to do from 2020 until the end of 2022 was to call for “highest and best.” And, that’s not negotiating. That’s not marketing. That’s not selling your house.

Because the MARKET was so hot for sellers in recent years, the expectation most home sellers still have is that they’re going to stick a sign in the yard and then these 3 things will happen:

1. Home sells fast
2. Buckets of money from bid wards
3. No or Minimal effort is needed to make the home stand out

Having been in this business for 20 years, I can tell you that the real estate market is cyclical. It always has been and it always will be!  This is my 5^th cycle, and the reality is, selling a home is rarely as simple as sticking a sign in the yard and diving in your room full of gold coins like Scrooge McDuck after selling it way over list price. 

When selling a home, we focus on what you can CONTROL.  And that is these 3 things:

1. Condition of the Property
2. Effective Marketing & Follow-Up
3. Bulldog Negotiation Skills

Not sure why your property didn’t sell? If your listing has expired or been withdrawn, give us a call! We’d be happy to offer a free, no-obligation assessment and create an action plan to get your home SOLD.

So, let’s dig into those 3 things you can control, which often times, believe it or not…can also be the reasons a home doesn’t sell if they aren’t addressed prior to listing. 

POOR CONDITION OF HOME

If your property received a lot of foot traffic but no offers, you may need to examine the impression you made on buyers who visited your property.

Start with the big-ticket items: AC, Roof, Plumbing, Electric.  How sound are your home’s structure and systems? Are there large cracks in the foundation? Are there water stains on the walls or ceiling that could signal a leak? How about windows or doors that don’t close or lights or switches that don’t work? These can be “red flags” that scare away buyers.

Curb appeal also plays a huge role in buyer perception.  Yards that need mowing and hedges that need trimmed are another subliminal turn off for prospective buyers.  And, certainly, if you have any exterior items in disrepair (like peeling paint or rotted siding), that should be addressed. 

Lastly, even a home with pristine yards and brand new big ticket items still are subject to the impression it gives to prospective buyers on the inside. Have you taken time to declutter & depersonalize? Buyers need to visualize themselves living in your home, which can be hard to do if the home is still jam packed.  Is your home clean? How does it smell?  Less is more when it comes to selling a home. 

So Help Me, Marketing Mama!

When we take on a new listing, we always walk through it with the homeowner and point out any repairs, updates, or decluttering that should be done to maximize its sales potential. We also share tips on how to prep the property before each showing. Click here for our Prep Your Home for Sale Guide.

In some cases, we will recommend that you utilize staging techniques to highlight your home’s best features and help buyers envision themselves living in the space. Home staging is one of the hottest trends in real estate—because it works! The National Association of Realtors suggests that staging can help push up your final sale price by as much as 20%.

Some sellers choose to hire a professional home stager, while others opt to do it themselves, but our “Staging with Your Own Stuff” method is FREE for all our Sellers and we’d love to meet with you to discuss that option as well.   

INEFFECTIVE MARKETING

Did your home get a steady stream of showings when it was on the market? If not, you may need to try a new promotional strategy.

Take a look at the listing description. Did it entice buyers to visit your property? A well-written description should be clear and compelling while highlighting your home’s most desirable features. Additionally, it should have utilized best practices for search engine optimization (SEO) to ensure that it was found by buyers who were looking for homes online.

And how well did the listing photos showcase your property? Many buyers use photos of a home to decide whether or not to visit it in person. Poor quality or a low quantity of listing photos could have kept potential buyers from stepping through your door.

Another factor to consider is whether your listing reached the right audience. This can be especially important if you have a unique or highly-customized home. The Multiple Listing Service is a great place to start, but some properties require a more robust marketing approach.

So Help Me, Marketing Mama!

We employ a strategic, AGGRESSIVE Active Marketing Plan that uses a combination of boots-on-the-ground neighborhood canvassing with high-end print marketing plus the latest technologies to seed the marketplace, optimize for search engine placement, and position your home for the best possible impression right out of the gate.

We also know how to get your listing in front of the right audience—one that will appreciate its unique features. By utilizing online and social marketing platforms to connect with consumers and offline channels to connect with local real estate agents, your property gets maximum exposure to your target market.

Want to learn more about our multi-step marketing strategy? Reach out for a copy of our Active Marketing Plan.

YOU HIRED THE WRONG AGENT (OR WORSE, NO AGENT AT ALL)

If you suspect that your previous real estate agent didn’t do enough—or used the wrong approach—to sell your home, you’re not alone. Many sellers whose listings languish until they expire or are withdrawn feel this way.

While most agents have the best of intentions, not all of them have the skills, experience, instincts, or local market expertise to devise a winning sales strategy in this challenging market.

Or, perhaps you chose not to hire a listing agent at all and have been trying to sell your home yourself. This can be an equally frustrating endeavor.

Although selling your home independently can help cut some costs, it can also be extremely risky and may even lose you money in the long run. Statistics show that For Sale By Owner (or FSBO) homes tend to sell for less than homes represented by a professional.

So Help Me, Marketing Mama!

If either of these scenarios sounds familiar, you need to ask yourself: “Would I still be interested in selling my home if I could get the right offer?”

If so, we should talk. We understand how frustrating it can be when you’ve put a lot of time, money, and effort into prepping your property for the market and it doesn’t sell. We also empathize with how disruptive a delayed home sale can be to your life. Our number one mission as YOUR Home Team is to make your real estate goals happen.  We have helped literally thousands of families with their home ownership journey and we pride ourselves on being a resource for #AllThingsRealEstate. 

READY TO MAKE A MOVE?

Let's talk. We can help you figure out why your home didn’t sell and how to revise your sales strategy and set your home up for success.

The housing market has experienced a shift and the waters may be choppier than usual for a while. But there's still plenty of opportunity in the current market: You just need PROVEN, EXPERT REAL ESTATE ADVISORS to navigate you through.  Because we have been helping buyers and sellers right here in Central Florida for the past two decades…it’s always SMOOTH SAILING when you work with us…whatever the market brings our way!

If your goal is still to sell your home, then Your Marketing Mama & Team are here to sell your home for the most money possible, and in the process reconnect you with the excitement you originally felt upon first listing. It’s time for a new agent, new marketing, new buyers, and most of all… new possibilities!

Much Love, 

Amanda aka The Marketing Mama