Why Overpriced Homes Don’t Sell

Every neighborhood has that one home with a “for sale” sign on the lawn that’s been standing there for several months. The home has been there for so long that even folks who go to every open house have seen it. Admit it, now you’re starting to worry. You think to yourself, “If this home, which is well-kept and modern, isn’t selling, does this mean that my home won’t sell when I’m ready?”

There’s a reason why that home isn’t selling and it’s not what you think. What’s the cause? Well, that home is probably overpriced. The seller set the price for that home without adequate assistance from a professional. Hence, overpriced homes don’t sell.

Why would someone do that you ask? Because they assumed that’s what the house is worth. They talked to their friends, did some online research and figured that that’s good enough, right?

Wrong. Knowing the market is a meticulous task. It comes from experience in the field and it comes from understanding what values are attributed to what aspects of a home. A seller with no real knowledge is only fooling themselves when they think that a home will sell for a value that is higher than the market value.

Will that home ever sell? Maybe, but it will certainly stand there for a long, long time at the inflated price. This, of course, is a major issue for a seller who wants a good price and wants to move on.

An expert appraiser has the ability to see the nuances of a home’s value. Take this example: an untrained seller or friend of the seller would consider the flooring and apply a specific price based on the look of the floor. However, if the flooring is thin laminate rather than hardwood, that actually brings the price down. Sure, this is a minor example, but it is something I have come across when reevaluating the price of a home that had been on the market for too long.

So, if your home has been on the market but you haven’t had any takers, then maybe it’s time to examine your price. You could have fallen into the trap of attempting to sell an overpriced home. Now, you’ll either have to make a price adjustment or take a look at home improvements you could do in a reasonable amount of time to improve the actual value of the home.

Keep in mind, if your home has the reputation of being overpriced, you may even have to consider going a bit lower in price so as to attract new clientele. Lessons to learn? How about: consider the value of your home very carefully and don’t go by the word of a friend!

Categorised in: Blog, Reasons To Get An Appraisal, Tips For Improving Home Value

This post was written by Joseph Castaneda