6 reasons your house isn't selling

A house down the street just sold, but yours is still on the market. Why can’t you attract a buyer? It’s a common question and the answers aren’t as much of a mystery as they might appear. These are seven of the most common reasons why houses don’t sell.

The price is too high

One of the most common reasons for a home not selling is that many homeowners place too high a value on a house they have lived in and loved for years. It’s not always easy, but you have to look at your house from a buyer’s perspective. One way to get a more realistic idea of what houses are selling for is to look at recent auction results in your area. For an even closer look, you can research sold properties in your local area which will give you the sales history for your postcode over the past 12 or 24 months.

Related: When is the right time to sell your home?

You chose the wrong agent

Home sellers often think they are getting a better deal by choosing discount real estate services. However, you usually get what you pay for. Make sure you choose the best real estate agent who will make an active effort to sell your house.

A poor first impression

It’s easy to overlook little things, but they are the first things prospective buyers notice. You don’t have to spend a fortune doing a complete makeover, but the outside of your home is what people notice first, and first impressions do last.

Related: How to prepare a property for sale

Too much personality

Your sense of style may suit you to a tee, but is it turning off potential buyers? When a home stylist stages a home for sale, they decorate it to suit the largest percentage of buyers. You want people who view your home to be able to visualise their families living in it. All those family photos on your walls and knick-knacks on your shelves may be working against you.

Inappropriate renovations

It’s fair enough to renovate your home to suit your lifestyle, but most buyers expect the garage to be a place for parking cars and the bedroom for sleeping. If you’ve turned a bedroom into a home theatre or the garage into a home office, consider returning them to their original purpose. It may seem obvious that the new owners could easily do these things when they move in, but yours is just one of many houses they’re looking at. If they don’t see what they want to see, they will look elsewhere.

You hang around for home inspections

It’s still your house, so why shouldn’t you hang around when your home is open for inspection? There’s one good reason: it puts prospective buyers on edge. They want to be able to speak freely to the agent and not feel your prying eyes. Stay away during inspections and let your agent do their job.

Your photos don’t flatter your home

Most of the people who come to inspect your home will do so after looking at the photos online. If the photos are of poor quality or don’t flatter your home, prospective buyers will consciously or subconsciously notice. Make sure the photos show off your home’s best assets.

Any one of these mistakes can delay a sale. It doesn’t cost much or take too much time to make a house more attractive to buyers and even minor DIY jobs can add to the value of your house.