What to do when your homes isn't selling

It’s a tough market right now in Edmonton.  If you follow market statistics, you’ll know that last year only 54% of homes listed on MLS in Edmonton and area actually moved off the market.  That’s means the other 46% didn’t sell or the owners gave up.  If your home is up for sale and not selling is not an option, what can you do to ensure success?

A new approach

There’s an old theory about what happens when people do the same thing over and over again with the expectation of a different outcome.  The same theory applies when it comes to developing a new approach to marketing your home.  

A common practice when sellers get anxious about the small number of showings their home is getting with no offers is to change real estate agents.   That isn’t really a new approach unless the Realtor you choose has a different approach than the one you were using before.  Questions to ask them would include:

• Do you have a strategy in place even before we list the house?
• Where and how would you advertise the listing for my home?
• What services do you offer in addition to putting the house on MLS?  ( i.e., home staging, renovation advice and professionals who can expedite said renovations)
• Do you routinely acquire feedback from other realtors who are showing my home and what feedback should we ignore and what feedback should we act upon?
• Will you keep me apprised of what other listing in my neighbourhood come on the market with advice on how to stay competitive in my own community?

Don’t believe everything you hear

Many Realtors make claims about their abilities and what they’ll do if you home doesn’t sell.  Some are true; some may have exclusionary fine print.  Claims may attract you to them but as the one hiring a Realtor it’s important to look past them and do your homework.  You want to be just as impressed by their track record as you are with their advertising claims.

You’ll want to:

• Check to see how many other listings they have in the market.
• Examine the quality of the listings and see how many were actually sold.
• Fine out what the list to sale price ratio is and how many days the listings sat on the market.
• Read the testimonials on the Realtors website but take them with a grain of salt. An objective website such as Yelp might give you a more accurate picture.
• Investigate how well they use their website and social media channels to advertise your home. Will they do a video tour of your home that sellers can access from their mobile phones?

Listen to honest feedback

If you’re just starting out on your 30, 60 or 90-day listing and you want your property to be marketable right from the start, ask for honest feedback and act on it.  Your Realtor can take the emotion out of your transaction and should be able to lay it on the line when it comes to making your home stand out during this market slump. That includes the truth about how much you should list your home for. The number one reason why a home isn't selling is because it's over priced.  Listen to your Realtor with your head and not your heart and watch the offers come in.