My house hasn’t sold. What’s taking so long?

We weren’t hearing that a lot over the last few years, but now we hear it often. What happened?

The market took a dramatic downturn during the second half of 2022 for several reasons. The inflation fighting interest rate increases from the Federal Reserve certainly played a role driving up mortgage rates; however that wasn’t the only thing to cause a slowdown. Seller greed and overpricing finally go to be too much for many would-be buyers. Many first-time buyers were just priced out of the market or became frustrated after losing out to investors who made cash offers for low-end houses to become rental properties. Also contributing to the slowdown was the continuing low inventory of houses for sale.

Sellers coming into the market during the last half of 2022 generally missed or ignored many of these signs and continued to overprice their homes when they listed them. People who didn’t have their homes ready to sell also jumped in so that they would not miss the “hot market”. They thought that anything and everything being listed would sell immediately. That was not the case, especially with houses that were far from move-in-ready. It has been difficult for those sellers to accept the reality of the current market, so their houses just sit there.

What are you to do if your house has been sitting on the market for months? As Doctor Phil used to say – “It’s time to get real.” I suspect that your Realtor has been trying for some time to get you to reduce you price to better suit the market. It’s time to listen to their advice. It may be time for you to rethink your whole situation. Can you afford to do what you had in mind at the current market value for your home. If not, take it off the market or rethink your plans to account for the reality of today’s market.

Even in this market, homes are still selling. If you still want or need to sell sometime soon, give me a call and let’s talk about the things that you need to do to get the house ready for the market and determine what a fair market price is in the current market. With those two things in mind, if you still want to sell we’ll discuss what your realistic expectations should be and go over the home selling process, so that you know what to expect. In southeast Michigan call me at 248-763-2497 to set up an appointment.

Getting Your Home Ready to Sell

 

Once you've decided that it's time to sell your house, it's time to think about what you need to do to get it ready for the market. Here are my thoughts about that, which will hopefully help you and save you some time and money.

My first tip is that this is NOT the time to think about that major remodeling of the kitchen or baths that you have been putting off. Those kinds of projects need to be done while you still have time to enjoy them for a while. You won't get your money back if you do them now. Sure they will increase the potential value, but you will not recoup your costs in that value increase. At this point, it is better to focus upon the points below.

You will get the most for your house in the shortest amount of time if you present a move-in-ready house to the market. A truly move-in-ready house would be in great condition and would already have the updates that you may not have done. The next best thing would be a home that is ready to move into,, but which still needs some updates. Let's talk about how to get you home in that state for the market. 

Potential buyers who go through your home will be evaluating it based upon many factors and three of the most important, beyond the need for any updates, are Clutter, Condition and Cleanliness.

Decluttering is the most often mentioned issue that I advise would-be sellers about when I give them advice on getting their home ready for the market. People just collect to much stuff and have it setting around their house, cluttering it up. Clutter makes a house look smaller and not in a cozy way. Clutter makes it harder to walk around in a house. Clutter makes it harder for the buyer to envision their belongings in the house and how they would live in it. Clutter is a distraction and a poor reflection upon the current owners. So, get your house decluttered. Take out much of the stuff that you re used to having setting or laying around. Put it in storage or in the basement, but get it out of sight. That includes the many family pictures that you have all over the place. Buyers don't want to see pictures of your family as they grew up, they want to9 envision their family growing up in the house. Declutter, declutter and then declutter some more.

A house's condition is usually impacted negatively by deferred maintenance - all of those little things that you meant to get to someday but didn't. Now is the time. You may have gotten so used to those things that you don't even see them anymore. That is a good reason to have a Realtor walk through the house with you to point out the things that they see that need to be fixed before listing it. Don't be offended, make a list and get to it. Replace that broken or missing switch plate or outlet cover, repair those holes in the wall where pictures used to hang even if that means repainting a wall or the whole room, fix or replace that dripping faucet, replace that cracked window pane or have that broken window seal replaced, get the bi-fold door back on track sop that it opens and closes smoothly, have that stained carpet cleaned or replace it. Most things that need attention will not cost a lot to fix, but don't skimp on the repairs of things that will be obvious to visitors. Replacing stained or worn carpet is not remodeling, it is just doing the maintenance that you've been putting off.

Finally, deep clean the place. This is something that you might also want to have professionally done. Most home cleaning services offer a one-time deep cleaning service that will leave your house feeling ready to move into. You want visitors leaving with the feeling that the place is really neat and clean and not feeling like they have to go home and take a shower after visiting your home.

If you do these things a potential buyer will leave the visit to your home with a good impression in mind. They may still have a list of things in mind that they would want to update, but they might also have in mind that they could buy it and move in and do the updates afterwards. That's a win for you. 

So, if you think you want to sell you home this spring, give me a call (248)763-2497 and let me walk through your home to advise you on the things that you can do to get it ready for market. I'll give you  a list that you can work on to get your home ready to sell more quickly and for the most amount of money.