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Well? It was the best one listed in your neighbourhood, totally unique and in mint condition - so why didn’t it sell? According to you, your Realtor and the property description your house should have sold in no time. It was the best one after all.
An expired listing is simply bad - so bad that some Realtors will try and hide that fact. They will terminate the listing prior to it expiring. Then list again. Same goes for price drops - terminate the listing and then submit a new one with a lower price.
Just imagine the day the house was listed - you were so excited. You interviewed (you did, right?) the agent, their confidence was so infectious: “Yes, Mr. Seller. I can sell your home for more money and in less time. And yes, I will get you the price that you want.”
A few weeks later, the same confident agent was beating you up on the asking price. “It really is priced too high and can’t be sold at that price.”
So, why wasn’t this agent able to sell your home for “more money and in less time?”
Well, my first issue is with the promise to sell your home for more money and in less time. Let me ask you this: Why would someone pay more than what something is worth to them? You see, the emphasis is on “worth to them”. A buyer willing to put money in your pocket for the title to your property decides what the right price is for your home. Not you or your Realtor. Your Realtor should be helping you understand what this price (or price range) is and marketing the property to attract that buyer. Overprice it and the buyer will go somewhere else.
Why would a Realtor list a home at a price that it won’t sell at? Simply to get your listing. Then he or she will ask for price reductions. But make no mistake, it isn’t just your Realtor’s fault. You as a seller share the greater portion of the blame. The Realtor just said what he or she thought you wanted to hear. Most sellers do not have a very objective understanding of what their property is worth. So they list it at a price that won’t attract the right buyers that are willing to buy it. And it sits and sits and sits on the market. Then comes the price drop, but by then some of the buyers have moved on and the remaining ones wonder why it is taking so long for your property to sell.
If you have a property that didn’t sell and the listing expired, ask yourself these questions:
1. Was my property priced too high?
2. If my Realtor wasn’t able to negotiate a listing price with me, do I have faith that he or she would be able to negotiate with a buyer’s Realtor during an offer?
3. If my Realtor wasn’t able to sell my property the first time, what is he or she going to do differently this time?
4. Is my Realtor the right person to sell this property?
If your house didn’t sell and the listing expired, may be you should interview the right real estate agent to sell your house. Call me at (604) 767-4841 and I can come a take a look at your property and suggest why it didn’t sell and what you need to do to sell it.
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