One of the questions I get asked all the time is:
“Why did my neighbor’s house sell in a week while mine has been sitting for months?”
It’s a fair question.
Sometimes homeowners think there must be something terribly wrong with their house if it isn’t selling. The truth is, that’s usually not the case.
I’ve been buying, selling, and renovating houses in the New Orleans area for more than 20 years. I’ve seen beautiful houses sit on the market for months and I’ve seen houses that needed a complete gut renovation sell almost immediately.
Most of the time, it comes down to a handful of factors. Let’s talk about them.
Price Is Usually the Biggest Reason
Let’s start with the obvious one.
Price.
Nobody likes hearing it, but it’s true.
Every homeowner wants top dollar for their property. I don’t blame them. If I was selling my house, I’d want the highest price possible too.
The problem is that buyers don’t care what you need out of the house.
They don’t care what you owe.
They don’t care what your cousin thinks it’s worth.
They compare your house to every other house available.
If there are three similar houses for sale and yours is the most expensive one, guess what happens?
They’re going to look at the other two first. Especially in today’s market. The market is slow. There are buyers out there, but not many of them and the ones that are looking (and qualified) are being very selective. Bottom line, it’s a buyer’s market.
I see this all the time when people price a house based on what they hope it’s worth rather than what the market says it’s worth.
And the market always wins.
Then later I’d write sections more like:
Condition Matters More Than It Used To
A few years ago buyers would overlook a lot of problems.
Not anymore.
Between higher interest rates and skyrocketing insurance costs, buyers are being a lot more careful. It’s the same thing; it’s a buyer market. Buyers are being selective.
If they walk into a house and immediately start seeing:
· Roof issues
· Foundation problems
· Old electrical
· Water damage
their minds start doing math.
They’re not thinking about how nice the house could be.
They’re thinking about how much it’s going to cost them.
And honestly, I don’t blame them. Renovation costs are costs are very expensive these days.
And the ending would sound more like:
Final Thoughts
At the end of the day, houses that sell quickly usually have three things going for them:
· They’re priced correctly.
· They’re presented well.
· They make financial sense for the buyer.
That’s really it.
If your house isn’t selling, don’t automatically assume the market is broken or that buyers are crazy.
Usually there’s a reason.
The good news is that once you figure out the reason, you can usually adjust and get things moving again.
Every property is different.
Every seller is different.
And every situation is different.
The trick is being honest about where your house fits in today’s market.
Because whether a house sells in 3 days or 3 months, the market is going to tell you exactly what it thinks it’s worth.