So your home is up for sale, the listing agent has your home listed on the local MLS, you have the sign in the front yard, you have prepped/"staged" the home (IE: finished all minor/major repairs) and lets assume that the home is priced is right. Why hasn't your home sold yet? Lets look at some possible factors of why the buyers are not making offers.
*Are you (the seller) home during showings? - This does make the buyers a bit on edge. They feel that they can not voice their true opinions of the home. They feel that they will insult you, so they walk through the home complimenting EVERYTHING - (which makes the seller think that they should raise the price). To add onto this, my office had a seller who was going through a nasty, horrible divorce - and the wife made sure every buyer we took into the home KNEW this - people that we showed the home to were quite scared. This in my book is a definite NO NO.
*Is the home accessible? - If you can only show your home while you are home, then you are narrowing down your buyers. Give a key to your agent. Let the agent show when you are not home (See above) - it makes it alot easier for all parties involved.
*Make sure that when you are allowing showings your home is clean! Tidy up, make the beds, take out the garbage, pick up clothes and make use some plug ins (air fresheners). This makes for a nice showing. I had a listing which was occupied by a tenant and it never failed, there were underwear thrown all over the apartment at almost every showing. Thats just not right!
*Look through the eyes of the buyer - A tip I give my sellers - walk through your home and "Pretend" that you are looking to buy your home. What do you notice? What do you like and NOT like? Work with that and fix what you can. Realize that the buyers are not uneducated - they are very well researched and they are not just going to hand you the money because that is what you want. They have to feel/know that the house, location and property is worth what you are selling. If you think that you are going to "trick" a buyer - you are not.
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