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How to tell if it was the agent or what in why my house did not sell?

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jak8410

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I interviewed 6 agents, worked it down to 3, and then picked one after checking references. All of them set my home in the same price range. Six months later and the contract is over, and about a dozen and a half showings, and no offers. According to the agent, house and property shows like a model, and is well kept. She says that because its 1.68 acres, that people are looking in a developement. I decreased the price by $10,000. in the first 6 week mark, to motivate buyers that came back 2 x. And other agents said that after showing they loved it, but it ws not what the client ws looking for. I find it really hard to believe that no one had a n egative comment!

They however, never brought any buyer to the home, only other agents. The only suggestion that they keep coming up with is mayber I should drop it again. They did the comparative market research, and Ihad it appraised before I picked any agent, and my price was close but above theirs. I never shared my apraisal or even let them know I had one. I was not interested in a contract during the holidays, and told her partner, now she says we should sit down and sign again, adjsut the price,and when I told her I was not listing now, she wanted to make sure she could still bring clients through the home. Any suggestions?
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December 02 2007 - US
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From Gig Harbor

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Is your property being shown? If you are getting a bunch of showings but no offer, it could be that there are too many choices for buyers.

Here comes the tricky one, if you are getting little to no showings it could be the price or it could be the agent not advertising the property.
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December 02 2007
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Justyn Kearney, "Justyn Kearney"

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Could be both. But honestly even the agents that advertise the property, network and market the heck out of properties, doesn't sell them. You have a much better chance at it of course, but even good agents are having a hard time right now. Met up with a friend today and she has 18 listings, with nothing selling. And she is a darn good agent. She usually closes over 10 million in sales each year.
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December 02 2007
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jak8410

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The pirice is comparible to other listings in the area. Most are in developments, my acreage borders a golf course, and has a creek running through the front on the home. Home is 3400 sq ft, 352 ft. from road, 400 from golf course, with 3 1/2 bathrooms, 5 bedrooms, finished basement. Well maintained, 15 years old, quality built, shows like a model according to lister. Seems like they play off mine to sell others in area as told to me by an agent who is not selling right now do to a family illness. :ister never decided to have open house till 6 weeks before listing was up. Never advertised in local papers, except a small local paper and bi- weekly real estate magazine. Just " maybe we should lower the price to motivate a buyer."
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December 07 2007
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klarek the realist

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I had 2 dozen showings without a negative comment. In the end it comes down to price. Buyers need to believe they're getting a steal.
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December 07 2007
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sunnyview

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I would take it off the market for a week, reassess your price and have an advertising push the first week of the new listing that includes newspaper ads and strong internet. Make sure your photos are detailed and good quality.

Your agent may be using your property as a shill to sell others or just not promoting it to the right type of buyer. The market is tough right now, but you need to have a good agent to sell your house in any market. You are paying for their services so get the best one you can.
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December 07 2007
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caballosnegros

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I think there could be a couple of things, one is the market, f course, but the other is the advertising , how much and where the agent is advertising. Next how effective are the ads- pictures, copy etc. Third , how well the agent shows your place- does he point out the great features? To show is easy, to sell- well... that's a talent.
I see a lot about price in here, but price is not all- people will pay for what they "must have", and selling is an art. When I interviewed realtors- I was amazed at how many didn't know sales or marketing (I taught sales). As a matter of fact, when mine was listed with a realtor, he asked me to do the showing and I did the copy and the pictures- why did I go on my on????LOL
I don't mean to insuklt realtors, but I was pretty amazed.
When I bought this place, I used a Realtor, and darn! she was good- "feel, felt, found"- she closed that puppy. I know and have taught sales and knew exactly what she was doing- ha to admire her- really great. Had me visualising- found my buttons- she was GOOD! (She is far out of state or I would have used her to sell).
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December 08 2007
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John Rainville, "BrokersRealty"

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If your property did not sell, it is was not the best deal out there for similar properties. Did you personally go and look at the 3 properties "like" yours that were priced above yours? And the 3 priced below it? Did you offer a "Selling Agent Bonus" of maybe 1% of the price? Remember, "Realtors" are debt propelled too, so why not incentivize them to sell YOUR property over the competition? My firm offers a lower listing side commission and the larger portion goes the Selling Agency. This makes sense as "He who has the Buyer --- Rules". If you relist, ask the Broker to split the fee differently to set your property up as "Special". IMHO
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December 08 2007
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SoCal BubbleBrain

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Best answer: The MARKET! End of story.
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December 08 2007
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Michael Ricks GRI

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At A Certain Point Price Overcomes All Objections. Buyers Agents Will Find Your Home And Do Want To Be Paid A Commision. Are The Pictures Great And Reflective Of A Model Home, Does The Description Showcase The Benefits And Features Of The Home. The Homes That Are Selling In My Area Are The Best Priced And The Best Looking. The House Will Sell The House, Sounds Like You Need To Be Priced Below The Comps, Making Your Home A Deal. All Buyers Are Concerned The Value Will Go Down More And It May. Good Luck...
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December 08 2007
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luckyme8890

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Jak, the market is baaaaaaaad. With that being said, when the house for sale belongs to an agent, the price does not drop! This house was listed for $1,265,000 in 2005. Then taken off market. Reappears at $1,285,000, and is currently at $1,275,000! It sits vacant. She can afford it I suppose.

They are so quick to advise price drops. But when it's their own money...
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December 08 2007
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Robert Huntsinger, "huntsirj"

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In this market it takes exposure, great pricing and mega incentives to both the Realtors and Buyers.

Take care!
RJH
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December 08 2007
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Roberto Ribas, "azrob"

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screw incentives to the realtors... that is bull hockey, 3% is hard enough to find today...

check prices versus serious comps, and find a realtor wiling to tell the truth about your house, not one that drops to his/her knees to get the listing...
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December 08 2007
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mustlovedog

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My house has been on the market for 4 months. Two price reductions. Four open houses with not one person showing up. It's priced right and shows beautifully. My realtor has it on the MLS and her company's web site. She also advertises in a cheap little "Penny Pincher" paper that I can't even find around here. I had three people come by the first week it was listed at a much higher price. Nothing but positive feedback. They all have to "sell before they buy," like me. I've lost out on two properties in the area I want to move to. What's happening? Is it my realtor's lack of advertising and promoting my house or is it the market? I'm in the Orlando FL area. You would think all of those snowbirds would want to snatch up a charming, completely restored 1920 bungalow!
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December 13 2007
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toyz

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Hi,
Me too! I am having trouble with my agent. She keeps blaming the market and saying that she is the BEST REALTOR!!!! However she has misrepresented my property first by underrepresenting my home by not taking as many photos as she did for her other clients, then posting them sideways, then I found out that our home was not showing when buyers did a search for townhomes (my family is selling a townhome). Then she got huffy because she had to fax the Comparative Analysis to me. Now she is saying that I am micromanaging her. Oh, she also posted my house on Zillow and did not take the time to complete all of the fields. When I told her I wanted them complete, she deleted my listing on Zillow and did not inform me!!! She had my husband do an open house and did not even advertise it!!! I have all of our conversations in writing by email. I feel really drained. I miss my family (my husband and two daughters) and we will be separated until our home sells.
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December 13 2007
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Dan Thaqi, "c21danny"

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The house may have been initially overprice and was on the market too long, therefore people lose interest on it. Also, based on what i read, your agent maybe new to the business and did not price it correctly.
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December 13 2007
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Aileen La Bouff, "Aileen.LaBouff"

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Boy, what a lot of possible answers...
- Geography makes a big difference in these questions.
- If your area is flooded with inventory, you will need to price yours better than everyone else's just to get attention.
- Comparative Market Analyses are great if the comparables are recent. If the sales are over 3 months old, they're probably not giving an accurate picture.
- The property MUST be advertised online to saturation point. Get it on Zillow, Trulia, Realtor.com, personal websites, company websites, property address websites.
Toyz - it sounds like you're in a very high stress situation. I wish I could offer you some support, but I just don't know enough about your situation or your local market. How long has your house been on the market ? What's the local average ? If your gut is telling you that you're not being well represented, I think you need to resolve that so that you can concentrate on the rest of what's hurting you about this.
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December 13 2007
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Marilyn Cotitta, "MCotitta11"

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I agree that there are a lot of possible answers.

Most Realtors truly are working for their buyer/clients interests, so try aiming your incentives toward your buyer instead of toward the Realtor.

- Pay a portion or even all of the closing fees on the buyers side
- Offer to pre-pay the first year of HOA dues

Research the new builds in your area.

Builders are working extra hard to bring buyers to them instead of you. Recent incentives in my area include dropping prices over $100,000, providing special below-market interest rate financing, paying all closing costs plus Realtor bonus commissions - all at the same time! And they include upgrades galor in the home. Re-sale owners who must compete with builders in the same area usually have their homes listed for longer time periods.
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December 13 2007
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toyz

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Hi,

Well, my listing is in NJ. It is a townhome. The townhomes my area are priced from 230-289! My current price is 269 my agent feels I should lower it to 254 which would cause us to have to write a check at the closing table. My house has been on the market for about 2 months. I want to trust my agent, but because of all of the errors and her comments about how advertising is a waste of money for realtors right now, I feel like she is not representing our property. I feel extra sad about the situation because she sold us our first home. She has been like a hero to us. Now I feel let down because of her negative attitude and her constant demands to lower our price. We plan on lowering the price, however we won't be able to negotiate at all from the price she wants to list us for, in fact we will have to pay out 5,000 to cover seller closing expenses.
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December 13 2007
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Karen Lindholm, "Karen Lindholm"

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If you can wait out the market, do!
If you can't, lower the price to the lowest amount you can tolerate. Give big buyer incentives & a big Broker commission percentage. It's sick, but agents are searching listings by comission amounts & incentives. If you can lease-great! Or an agreement for deed. Move on or move over.
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December 13 2007
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Carrie R

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I agree with Marilyn. Incentives should be geared toward the buyers...not the buyers agent. The buyers afterall make the decision. Most buyers are smart enough to search on their own through the internet. Unless you are marketing to retirees who do not have internet access...I think its silly to give incentive to the buyers agent. From a lot of these posts however....looks like some are not doing their fiduciary duties.
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December 13 2007
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Meredith McKenzie, JD, Broker, "californiabrokerjd"

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Your property has probably not sold because of a combination of your price and your agent. With the market declining on average .025 % per month this year, your property has been overpriced for the past three and a half months. Until this market stabilizes, savvy brokers will only take listings where the seller agrees at listing contract time to automatically readjust the price downward every six weeks that the property is on the market unsold. Otherwise, sellers are just chasing the market down. Unfortunately, appraisals are not accurate value markers in this downtrend cycle. The only well-priced properties that count are solds within the last 60 days. It also sounds like your agent did not do much 'real marketing'. This is no surprise, since 70% of the agents in California, for example, have been in the business less than 10 years and have only known a seller's market. That means they do not know how to go out and find buyers. Extremely strong, syndicated web presence is critical as is targeted marketing towards potential buyers (e.g., if the property is on a golf course, the agent should be marketing to area country club and private golf club members ~ then add the incentive of one year's club dues paid upon closing). Most important, though, is the seller's motivation. Most properties I see languishing right now are doing so because the seller wants last year's price for the property. Alas ~ last year is gone. Finally, I don't understand your agent's desire to be able to show your home even though you state you don't want to be on the market now. Most professional real estate brokers I know won't waste our time with the precious few buyers we have right now by showing properties where we have no guarantee that we will be paid a commission if we put a deal together. So ~ the choices, as I see them, are to sell the property quickly (that means cutting the price and market aggressively ) or pull the property off the market and wait out this cycle.
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December 13 2007
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Lorie Gould, "Lorie Gould"

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luckyme8890... I am sorry you have anger towards agents. I disagree with your comment. I have seen many agents lose money in the current market. You are stating that agents will advise others to reduce and not reduce themselves... and then you state that the agents homes you are referring to is still listed for sale. In your example it could be that the agent perhaps needs to take their emotions out of the situation and get their own home priced to sell. Agents can get emotional about their own homes just as a non-licensed seller can be. Emotions lead to overpriced listings.

Jak... one of three things is going to happen when you list your home. (1) You will get a lot of activity and get offers which means you are positioned well, (2) you will get a lot of activity and no offers which means your condition is not good or you are priced to high or a combination of both, (3) or you will get no activity and no offers which means you are not priced for the market.

I truly question relisting with the same agent for several reasons. First and foremost, what are they going to differently this time to get your home sold? Secondly, it sounds like they are not getting real with the market and getting real with you regarding what you need to do to improve condition or where you need to be priced to get it sold. There are too many agents that are so afraid to offend a seller by being truthful on price that they would rather lose face by the property just sitting on the market. Time on the market is not a sellers friend. Statistics show the longer a home sits, the lower the purchase price. You need an upfront and honest agent to tell you like it is... the good, the bad, and the ugly. At the end of the day it is the buyers who determine value with their offers or lack there of.

Every agent is not for every client. The current market conditions are really going to prove who the best agents in the industry are.
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December 13 2007
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Eik Group NV

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Ask your agent if they can do, not just a comparative market analysis, but help you understand the absorbtion rates for properties in your area like yours.

When I list a home, I can usually tell the seller how many days it will be before we see an offer within a 14 day window by showing how many homes like theirs go under contract in any given 15-30 day period. I trace the numbers back 30 days at a time for a year and try to show them the trends.

It is a math, math, world baby.
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December 13 2007
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Roberto Ribas, "azrob"

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thats ridiculous... even if the "average" home is seling in 120 days in an area, that by no means predict how fast a particular home will sell; Futher, that average is for homes that have sold, and the average to sell the remaining ones might be completely different...

I am a professor of mathematics, leave this one be...
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December 13 2007
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Scott Taylor, "ScottTaylor"

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Note: Appraised Value and Market Value can be two different things. I'd listen better to the agent's reccommondations regarding pricing and forget your appraisal. In a declining market, like we have here, a properties value may plummet quickly. Have your agent compare your house and price to others that offer relatively the same thing. As previous posters have commented, it's a really tough market and even Realtors are not selling a lot of thier listings right now, there are just too many listings for sale, too much competition and only so many buyers to buy them all. In my area, Orlando, only 4% or so of the homes listed in the MLS are actually selling each month! The best way to ensure that your home is the next to sell is to closely monitor your own competition. Your Realtor may know better what buyer's are looking for. Everything will sell if it's priced right.

I get a lot of calls from sellers who's listings failed to sell during thier first listing period. Most often I hear the seller blaming the agent. 9 times out of 10 it was because the price was too high. Sure there are some terrible agents out there, but remember that the agents really do want your home to sell. Seriously, unless the agent was insane, they most definately want your home to sell. If you're arguing and defending what you believe your home is worth to the agents... you may be the reason that the home failed to sell, not the agent.
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December 14 2007
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mustlovedog

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Thanks for all of the comments. I can sell my house at $169,000 and still make enough to move. Should I lower it to the bottom line? I want offers! I want people coming inside! My curb appeal is terrific. Everything inside looks great. How do I get my realtor to find a buyer!? Do I really need to offer an incentive to a realtor who sells my house? It's been suggested, but I refused... Especially with there being NO activity on my house in months.
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December 15 2007
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Norma OConnor, "MDRealtor"

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Price is the factor 90% of the time. I had my last sale listed for 5 mths, started at 349, 500 (per owners request), I suggested 329, 500 per comps. She had just finished the basement from ceiling to floor and wanted to re-coup some of the money she put down there. We kept lowering price every 30 days and even offered bonus to buyers agent. Finally lowered to 329, 500 at 4 1/2 months into it. I did 4 Open Houses for her during the listing period,and advertised before each one and at other times too. Showed it 18 times total. It was vacant as she had already purchased the new house. Got a contract at 5 months and sold for 315,000. It was 3 bd, 2 full, 2 half baths, stainless appliances, hardwood, large yard, on a cul de sac. So price is a heavy factor.
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December 15 2007
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mustlovedog

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Okay, so everyone is saying it's the price that matters... I just emailed my realtor and asked her to lower the price again AND offer a selling bonus to the realtor who sells it. We'll see. Right now I'm trying to enjoy Christmas in my pretty little bungalow and not stress too much about moving.
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December 15 2007
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I just sold in the Tucson market and offering incentives (either buyers or their agents) didn't do anything.

Once we found the "sweet spot" price wise, that triggered 3 offers. The first two buyers failed, but the third made it through to the end and got a great deal. Fortunately, we did walk away with something (although not as much as we'd hoped) so it was disappointing.

We chose not to re-list with our first set of REAs and chose a different REA and different company. Second REA was much better and it's hard not to look back and think I should've fired the first set when we were clearly not seeing eye to eye. Before we signed that listing agreement, the first set of REAs were great on communication and prompt. Afterwards, forget it. It was like pulling teeth.

Go with your gut, lower the price (if you can) and change your REA. You never know, one or more of these things might get your house sold!
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December 15 2007
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if the right agent accepted the contract to sell your home, your home would have been sold. you're the principle. it's your investment. you make the final decisions.
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December 17 2007

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