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my current listing is about to expire in a couple of weeks. i definitely will not be re listing with the same company. i have started interviewing other agents, several in fact. they are all surprised as to why my house hasn't sold, priced right, good size, lots of showings no offers. not even suggesting to lower the price and they all seem confident they can sell and market the house better than it has been. none of the agents that i am interviewing brought clients to my house in the past 5 months, and not sure why?
so what went wrong here? is one agent or company (well known) really going to make the difference? another home in my area that was priced higher and had less square footage and amenities just got sold, not sure if the agent has anything to do with it or if a buyer just really wanted that one. not sure if the buyers looked at mine too or wasn't shown mine at all. i am not looking to make an excuse as to why my house isn't sold, nor place blame, and i am told it is not overpriced. so can your agent be the issue?
You could contact the agent your mention who sold the house with les square footage and see what she has to say about yours and about comparison.
You could also contact the top selling realtors in your area.
Did you take a look at the house that sold with less square footage at an open house or something? Was there a certain impression it created on entry?
Do you have a friend or acquaintance you can ask who looks at homes occasionally at open houses...how yours compared?
Sometimes we just don't think of things in our own homes that others notice.
You should also try to get feedback from your current listing agent. What were the comments he/she learned from the agents who showed your home all along....from the agent's point of view but also what did their clients say?
This always bothered me when I listed properties that didn't sell. New agent comes along, says no problem we'll get this sold asap, yet this person never brought a buyer along or made an offer. It's all hubris.
my current listing is about to expire in a couple of weeks. i definitely will not be re listing with the same company. i have started interviewing other agents, several in fact. they are all surprised as to why my house hasn't sold, priced right, good size, lots of showings no offers. not even suggesting to lower the price and they all seem confident they can sell and market the house better than it has been. none of the agents that i am interviewing brought clients to my house in the past 5 months, and not sure why?
so what went wrong here? is one agent or company (well known) really going to make the difference? another home in my area that was priced higher and had less square footage and amenities just got sold, not sure if the agent has anything to do with it or if a buyer just really wanted that one. not sure if the buyers looked at mine too or wasn't shown mine at all. i am not looking to make an excuse as to why my house isn't sold, nor place blame, and i am told it is not overpriced. so can your agent be the issue?
It could be the agent. Perhaps your listing agent was too slow in responding to buyers' agents who tried to contact them about the house, so the buyers moved on to other properties with responsive listing agents. Or maybe your agent didn't market your house well.
It might not be the agent, though. Maybe your house is not in a good location (on a busy corner, just outside the "good" school area, etc.), or maybe you didn't keep it clean/presentable for showings (I haven't seen your house, so I'm not accusing you, I just don't know).
If you got lots of showings but no offers, then it's probably not a marketing issue. As someone else suggested, see if you can have a friend give you some honest feedback on your house, perhaps there's something they will notice that you don't because you live there. I'm sure the agents you're interviewing all want to sound confident they can sell your house fast because they want your business (and commission), so take it with a grain of salt; however, since they're all saying the same thing about the price and everything being good, there's probably some truth to it.
The only time I have seen homes get a lot of showings and no offers is when there is something funky about it. Slightly odd floor plan type of stuff. What did the agents that you interviewed say were the negatives about your house?
The person I bought my house from had switched realty companies before I bought.
He said after his experience with the first company ( most agents were older women ) he asked the new female agent................." Do you do this for a living or do you do this just because you are bored at home and want an activity to do "?
He said new agent ( younger) assured him this was her lively hood and she is ambitious.
We live in a retirement area and thus that first company had a lot of female agents who appeared to be semi-retired and didn't really need the money.
The question that I have to ask is "What did your current agent do to market and sell the property?"
If they made a diligent effort, advertised it, helped you stage it, held open houses, etc. Then I would have to look elsewhere for the reason it did not sell. Like something objectionable about the home.
However, if all your agent did was put up a sign and put it in the MLS and wait for a buyer, then look for another agent. I know there are people who do not believe that you can market a home, but I disagree.
When I sold my last home, my agent, did a great job of marketing the home. We had buyers from every end of the metro area and the home sold quickly. I am totally convinced that her hard work was the difference.
i am not looking to make an excuse as to why my house isn't sold, nor place blame, and i am told it is not overpriced. so can your agent be the issue?
First of all, all real estate is local. You didn't tell us about your market, how hot it is, the supply and demand, how fast houses are sold, how is your house compared to others, is it staged, is the photos appealing, etc, etc. So it's impossible for me to tell if your agent is the problem.
Second, I'm speaking as a seller, not an agent - most homes sell themselves. I know that agents like to think they have something to do with it but 99.9% of the time, houses are sold because the buyers walked into the house, liked what they saw and made offers. If your houses isn't sold and it had a lot of showings, it's probably the house or the price that's the problem; it meant no one walked into the house and liked it enough to meet your price.
Third, just like every NBA team runs the pick and roll, every agent has the same marketing plan. They may call it differently, but it's the same plan. The devils in the detail, it's not the plan it's how well they execute it. That's why I don't interview agents, I observe them - I evaluate their listings, their sold properties, I go to their open homes, talk to them, get a feel for how they work the field, etc, etc.
Fourth: no agent is perfect. Everyone has his/her strength and weakness. Some agents are better at engaging buyers, some are better at presenting a home, some are better at being thorough and reachable, etc. You have to decide which type of agent you need and usually it is driven by how hot the market is. In a buyer's market, you need someone who is good at presenting your house, in a dead-slow market you need an agent who charms the buyers, and in a hot market you probably just need someone who is thorough and stay on top of things.
i am not looking to make an excuse as to why my house isn't sold, nor place blame, and i am told it is not overpriced. so can your agent be the issue?
Buyers don't care about agents, if they want the house, they will place an offer. Ask yourself, what is wrong with my house? (location, next to something undesirable, etc) Next, look online for houses in your area and price range. Is your house much worse for the same price? Investigate!
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