Tuesday, July 16, 2013

Talk to me homebuyers!

I am baffled. I am confused. I am frustrated. I am clueless.  These are my sentiments about selling our home. We have been trying to sell our home now for a total of 13 months. We live in a small town so I anticipated it would take awhile to sell since not that many people look for homes in our area.  I did not think by any means that we would soon be facing another fall/winter in this house. We keep a steady stream of lookers, however, with an average of maybe 3-4 showings a month.  There have been some down times with no showings for 6 weeks and other times when we have 3 showings in 24 hours.

Our realtor gets feedback reports from other realtors that show our home.  This is where I am confused and frustrated.  Every single feedback report we have received tells us that the potential buyers love the house.  They love the size of the bedrooms, they love the views, love the deck, love the walkout basement, love how clean it is, and think the price is great.  Okkkaayyyy....then what is your problem? Please tell me because obviously there is something off or your realtor is completely fibbing on the reports.

I have always been one to think, "things will happen when they are suppose to" or "it will all happen in God's time".  However, there is no pushing aside the feelings of frustration. 

Today I looked at houses pending sale in our town online. Should not have done that.  I got even more confused. Houses priced the same as ours but in need of complete renovation are selling, houses priced more than ours but smaller are selling, etc.  Hard to explain without pictures and hard evidence that I won't post on here. So, Take my word for it.

Now the inevitable questions arise as our third contract ends with our realtor that we have had from the start. Do we lower the price (which we can't budge on much)?  Do we list with someone else? Do we take it off the market for awhile...again?

Talk to me homebuyers! Tell me what you are looking for. I am at a loss. The houses that are selling do not have bigger yards than us, they do not have better finishes, they do not have more square feet. I know that the housing market is still recovering, but when your town is spiking and homes are selling all around, you have to question why. Patience is virtue. I have maintained that since early last year but this virtue is quickly disappearing.  Things will happen in their own time...the right time. I hope. 

3 comments:

  1. I wish I had advice. I've only sold one house and it happened far more quickly than we ever imagined it would. We didn't make any money on it, so maybe that was part of it. I don't know...is the price competitive for homes like it? Have you tried staging the house? I know there are services you can hire for that, maybe it's worth a try...

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    1. Our house is competitive and feedback tells us the price is good. I have pretty much staged it myself (kind of my thing). I have de-cluttered, got rid of stuff, packed up personal photos, re-arranged furniture, etc. Guess it will sell when the stars align properly. Ha! Thanks for checking out my blog!

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  2. I have sold a few homes in my time. These are the tricks I use, but you are probably already doing them. I turn on every light in the house. Day or night, do this. Make coffee, bake bread or cookies. The aroma is inviting. Staging is huge. No personal pictures of family etc. We also printed out a brochure about what it is we loved about living there. The great things about the house...great neighbours, things in the area etc. It just adds a little wishful touch for the new buyer. We also did a pre inspection, so anything wrong with the home is stated there for them to see. It makes them trust you more. Maybe a change in realtor, taking it off for a bit, and coming back as a new listing will help. I wish you the best of luck. I know how hard it can be, been there done that. And even though its hard to believe right now, the right buyer will come along. And by the way, people get a little wary when a house has been on the market too long. They think...hmmmmmm....there must be something wrong with it, even when there isn't. So that might be the only problem. Crossing my fingers for ya!

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