Top reasons homes don’t sell & how to avoid those mistakes.

Have ya’ll heard the saying “he had the attention span of a goldfish”? Turns out a 2015 Microsoft study found the average person browsing a real estate app has an attention span of about 8 seconds, that’s 1 second less than the attention span of a goldfish. And that was in 2015, it’s safe to say now with the huge advances in scrolling technology we are moving on even faster than that. 

So how would a home listing grab and keep the attention of a potential buyer?

Often the initial listing picture is an overall shot of the front of a house, but this may not be the best, most appealing angle. So, switch it up! If you have an incredible garden in back, or you have resigned an irresistibly dope kitchen, maybe try your first photo leading with a real stand out strength.

Another oops could be pricing a home with lots of 9s in order to maybe appear more affordable. Large retailers use this often, pricing something at 199$ as opposed to 200$ to make folks feel as if they’re getting a bit of a deal. The problem is people set their price shopping windows very specifically to only see homes within their budget. So, if you listed a home at 499,999 instead of 500,000$, that Zillow price setting wouldn’t show the shopper you’re listing even though it’s in their range. List that bad boy with the zeros. 

This obvious reason is very often the culprit, maybe your house ain’t priced right. If a place is listed too high, people will eye roll at your listing. Most serious shoppers have an idea of what the price range should be in any particular area, or their agent will inform them if the number is too high. 

Even if the listing goes live at a lower number than you as the seller thinks it’s worth, the idea is that you should receive multiple offers that drive the price up to market value. 

A famous example of a rad house that sat for quite some time and would not sell is Cameron’s house from Ferris Buellers Day Off. Remember that epic mid-century awesomeness, where they snagged dads red Ferrari for all the wild teenaged joyriding? That house was a 1953 James Speyer architectural creation, located in Highland Park. As in the movie, that crazy garage was where homeowner Ben Rose kept his vintage car collection. Ben Rose died in 2009 and that house went on the market priced at 2.3 million dollars. It sat and sat, and in 2011 it had dropped down to 1.65 mil. It’s a really amazing building, but it wasn’t getting many hits from interested parties. The place wasn’t very practical to live in, all the huge single panel windows made it impossible to keep warm, and as it sat it fell further into disrepair. Eventually it was added to the Landmark Illinois list of endangered buildings, and it faced the risk of being demolished. 

In 2013 it went back on the market one last time at 1.5 million and in 2014 it was finally purchased by a couple who bought it for the final price of just over one million dollars. What a road, and what a relief! The awesome mid entry gem has undergone some major renovations and still stands today. 

It can be a frenzied event, listing a home to sell, there are so many reasons people can feel really rushed and kind of emotional during the listing process. Due to this phenomenon, many properties aren’t properly prepared to go live being listed for sale. There are so many little tweaks that make a huge difference to prospective buyers when viewing homes for sale. Your Monday Team Agent can walk you through updating key light fixtures, throwing down some fresh gravel, replacing a few doorknobs and repainting here and there where it really matters. Skipping some of these steps can really hurt the popularity of your listing and cause a home for sale to sit without bites. The Monday Team has professional stagers who really know what they are doing. Once the cosmetic upgrades are done, the stagers will work their magic. The result is unmistakably bomb listing photos that highlight the space in the best possible way. 

Maybe the listing itself lacks the magic? If the verbal description of your property and it’s best qualities, how shall we say, sucks, people will keep it moving and won’t be gripped to check the place out. You need a listing that makes your house sound dang cool! You want it to sound awesome, don’t let it lay there all generic and boring. describe how the corner store two seconds away has incredible tacos, how the kitchen light is all glorious and heavenly at sunset, and the cherry blossoms bring the homeowner a whole spring season of sweet-smelling joy. Highlight the special stuff, to make it sound, you know, special. 

It’s easier said than done but give your realtor space to do their thing. The Monday Team Agents are seasoned professionals, and major advocates for you. They will get it done, and keep you updated and in the loop nonstop. When sellers have a hard time letting go or are very invested in the emotional value a home held for them, it can throw a wrench in the selling process and scare buyers away. It can be tough, because a home is a huge deal, and a big part of people’s lives, but you gotta trust the process. Let the agent do their thing, and it will go much smoother than if you attempt too much interception or interaction with the buyer. Because it’s such a huge financial move to make a home purchase, buyers need to feel as though the process is highly professional. The Monday Team wrote the dang book on highly professional and can guarantee that it will be handled properly from start to finish. 

Having truly excellent realtors on your side will elevate your listing process from hella stressful to possibly even enjoyable. It’s a wild world out there in the real estate market in California these days. The Monday Team will guide you and work with you every step of the way, to ensure you never have to experience the major bummer of an expired listing.