Seven Reasons Why Your Denver House Won't Sell

The public's perception, true or not, is that this is a total Buyer's Market. If you're even thinking of listing your property "just to see what happens," forget it! If you're not serious, well prepared for the market, bargain priced and if you haven't hired an agent that "markets like a monster" on the internet, don't bother. Homes are selling and Buyers are buying, but this is a serious game. To be a serious, committed player, check out the tips below.

1. Your property won't sell because your photos are "less than impressive."

The vast majority of home buyers start their search for a home on the Internet, so your property had better look fantastic in print. Not just nice, it has to look downright fabulous. Today an internet view is the same as a "virtual showing." If your house gets past that, then they might (just might) make an appointment to see it in person. You should really consider that your SECOND showing. Today's online viewers expect good quality photos (and lots of them). This picture... taken from Google Maps... is completely unacceptable. That's a $500,000 listing! Take a moment and your digital camera and force your agent to go earn their commission, with a virtual tour and maybe even a floor plan. And the photos need to be high-quality, or don't bother.

2. Your property won't sell because it's overpriced.

It's important to be as objective as you possibly can. Look at the home as though you were a "buyer." If necessary, make an appointment with your Realtor to view other properties that are priced comparably to yours. Be brutally objective. Given the other options on the market (and yes, you DO have to include short sales and foreclosures on your list... your potential buyers are!), would YOU buy your home, over the others that are currently available on the market?

If the answer is "NO" (and try to be as honest as you can), then you have your work cut out for you, don't you? You either have to "update" your home to meet or beat the competition (that might mean an updated bathroom or kitchen, or neutralizing some decorating - remove that old wallpaper that was there when you bought the house) or lower your price to adjust for it. If you can't afford to sell it for the price that you KNOW it should sell for, this may not be the right market for you to sell. Consider taking it off-market.

3. Your property won't sell because it shows badly.

This could mean almost anything... from the 60 pound Rottweiler, barking and drooling at the potential buyers from behind the safety of the flimsiest child-gate, to the lingering smell of 30-years of smoking. Maybe the carpeting shows traffic-pattern wear, or your windows allow in slightly more than daylight. These are all things that aren't visible from the internet, but whoa.... once you get inside the house... they show up, like a cat-urine-soaked-shag carpet on a 95 degree day in New Orleans!

4. Your property won't sell because you're invisible.

Today's buyer comes from the internet, almost exclusively. Have you (or your agent) simply plopped the property on the MLS, and started praying? Are you on all the websites (Trulia, Zillow, Craig's List, Google Base, etc.), all the places that buyers are searching? If not, you need to be, now! Don't try to be a secret in today's electronic world. You want to be found, and the sooner the better.

5. Your property won't sell because your listing is tired and stale on the market.

Okay... yes, you overpriced your home initially when you first came on the market a year and a half ago. But since then you have reduced your price almost monthly, constantly chasing the market down. Now, finally you're truly priced where you believe should be, but your listing (not your house) has become tired and stale. Everyone who is looking for your type of property (i.e. 3br/1.1 bath) in your area has already seen the listing online, or in person and they remember that there was "something" about it that they didn't like... but what they don't remember is that what they didn't like was the price. It's time to take the listing off market. Let it cool off (3-6 months), and bring it back on fresh in the spring. Yeah, you'll have six months' worth of holding costs, but you'll more than make up for it in your purchase price.

btw... Resist the temptation to bring the house back on at a higher price, than when you left the market. Just "don't do it!"

6. Your property won't sell because your house won't appraise.

The house looks great... you've finally gotten someone to bring you a bid on your slightly over-priced, but beautiful pied-a-terre. But the bank appraiser says it's worth $20,000 less than your buyer has agreed to pay. Heavy sigh... bite the bullet...negotiate with them. If you have to drop the price $20,000 to make it work..."make it work"... chances are, anybody else trying to buy your house will run into the same problem. If you're not willing to negotiate the difference, you may find yourself with no buyer, and accepting a lower offer somewhere down the line.

7. Your property won't sell because it's unavailable to show.

You have a baby, and a one year old - and they need their naps. So you've told your Realtor in no uncertain terms that you'll only allow showings from 9:00 a.m. to Noon, and then again from 2:30-5:30 p.m. And no showings on Saturday or Sundays. "After all," you tell him "we still live here...it's our home!" Well guess what? They can't buy it if they can't see it. As good as your online photos are they're no substitute for an in-person visit. "If they really want to see it, they'll reschedule," is what you're already thinking as you read this. Nonsense! What they'll do is just move on to the next property in line (there are dozens like yours available) and maybe they'll buy that one instead. Once you put your property on the market it stops being your "home," and becomes your "product." And you want your product to be seen by as large a buying audience as possible.

This blog was reposted from an original post on Active Rain by Alan May, a realtor in Evanston, Illinois. If you're thinking of selling your Denver home, The Bandy Team can answer your questions and can help you take all the steps needed to help your home sell quickly and for the best price. If you're thinking about buying a Denver home, we'll show you some terrific values on real estate in Aurora, homes in Castle Rock, including the two communities of properties in Castle Pines; and other homes in the Denver Metro Area, including a wide variety of houses in Littleton.

Marianne Bandy

Consider relocation to Denver, Colorado.