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My husband and I have been trying to sell our home in Memphis for quite some time now - by owner and by agent. We live in a great neighborhood, great public school district, great house. What is going on with the real estate market in this city? We are so frustrated!
My husband and I have been trying to sell our home in Memphis for quite some time now - by owner and by agent. We live in a great neighborhood, great public school district, great house. What is going on with the real estate market in this city? We are so frustrated!
MM, hang in there......it's not just Memphis, it's the same over most of the country and been that way for several years. The lack of jobs is also hurting home buyers.
I know of several homes that were appraised at $300k 4-5 years ago that have sold for half that recently.....
Maybe your asking price is a bit high for the existing comps in your neighborhood..... You have to have the most appealing house in the area...at the right price...
Simple supply and demand.....way more homes on the market than potential buyers - and many of those buyers are looking to find a steal on a foreclosure rather a "normal" sale. Unfortunately, it's going to take the market years to improve much. There are still lots of foreclosures in the pipeline, the unemployment picture isn't going to improve quickly, people with iffy credit and no downpayment aren't going to get a loan.
You have to understand that the oversupply was fueled by poor lending standards that allowed just about anyone to purchase a home....without regard to whether they could actually afford to pay for it. Now that lenders have returned to more traditional standards -and even more conservative than that in some cases - the supply of qualified buyers has been reduced substantially.
The first reason is price... the second reason is price... and the third reason is price... you can't sell because its priced on what you think its worth, not what the buyers think its worth...
Don't understand why this post was moved since it was specifically about the Memphis housing market!
The mods are on overdrive. They moved a Raleigh post into the real estate forum as well.
OP, maybe if you post a few pictures of your home on here we can see if there is anything that might be turning off potential buyers? Some folks have done that and I think they found the suggestions helpful to improve the marketing of their home.
Possibly price and presentation. Two houses in my neighborhood went under contract/sold recently. They were priced right and showed beautifully. Another house (right next door to the one that sold) is priced lower and been on the market way longer, and still hasn't sold! I think it's because doesn't show well and not staged.
Note: If you've already done the below things, good for you. Keeping hanging in there.
My husband and I recently bought a house -- we looked at quite a few in some nice neighborhoods. We were shocked at the "show" condition of some homes when we walked through. While buyers should be looking at features and layout rather than decoration, the in-between stuff will get you. Buyers probably won't care about wall colors, rugs, and such (that stuff being done nicely will help), but they will take stock of gouged walls, broken tile, water damage, etc. as either future repair costs or just as turnoffs.
You REALLY need to declutter and clean up to entice people. Potential buyers are likely looking at a bunch of houses and yours is up against some good stuff out there right now. Repair things you've let slide and make your home look well taken care of. We're not talking that it has to look like a pro decorator came through, or that you spent hundreds on new countertops or whatever. At the least, what is there just needs to be in good condition and clean. Update if you can spare the cash. Watch HGTV for tips on foo-fooing things up a bit on a small budget. (You know, scrub your toilet & tile, fix the grout, hang a pretty new shower curtain and towel, hide your Preparation H, and dehair the brush. Ta-da!)
Consider re-purposing some spaces for "show" but don't go overboard. We saw a few houses with some of the worst "finished out" spaces I've ever seen. Attics that were DIY finished out and sold as regular living space -- that looked like utter ****. I'm sorry to be blunt, but don't try to sell people that crap. Put stuff in it to make it look like extra storage space if that's all it's worth. Let the real estate agent or buyer be the one who says, "Oh, this could be a nice extra bedroom." Or get a professional to come and fix it up.
Keep in mind that any repairs you don't want to do may follow you to the inspection and bite you one way or the other (contract repair conditions or reduced price).
Addendum: Pet filth and damage was something that would make us walk out of any home viewing almost immediately. If you have animals in your house, make sure a buyer can't smell or see signs of their living there beyond perhaps the bed and bowl. Same thing probably goes for smoking damage (yellowing) and odor.
Possibly price and presentation. Two houses in my neighborhood went under contract/sold recently. They were priced right and showed beautifully. Another house (right next door to the one that sold) is priced lower and been on the market way longer, and still hasn't sold! I think it's because doesn't show well and not staged.
Or perhaps the other house is in extreme disrepair... I have seen similar houses in a neighborhood.... I can't believe the amount of repair needed on some homes, its like they didn't even care for the house as if it was their own home... the OP seem to think the home is in great shape and is enthusiastic about selling it therefore, presentation probably isn't bad either..... so it comes back down to price...
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. You have to have the most appealing house in the area...at the right price...
