Is It Your Fault Your House Won’t Sell?
Monday, June 28th, 2010Despite the best efforts of your Realtor, you’re not getting any offers on your property or the offers you are getting are much lower than you’re willing to accept. Well, it actually might be your fault your property, whether its a house, co-op or condo, has been languishing on the market.
“It just ain’t so”, you immediately reply. Now, I do admit there are a lot of reasons a house might not sell, and it might well have nothing at all to do with you, but just to make sure, let’s examine one of the main reasons it might just be your fault your house won’t sell:
Your Asking Price is Way Too High
Nobody wants to loose money and that’s a fact. But the reality of today’s real estate market is that most properties have lost value in the past few years, in some parts of the country as much as 45%.
Real Estate is actually only worth what someone is willing to pay for it, and you have to understand that buyers will not factor any of the following into their offer price:
- You raised your family in the house and enjoyed countless Christmases, Thanksgivings and Birthdays in it.
- You spent a fortune putting in that hot tub and installing the Cherub fountain in the back yard.
- You could have gotten $50,000 more for it in 2004.
- Two years ago your neighbor got a lot of money for his dump and your house is much better, the best one on the block as a matter of fact. (Truthfully your neighbor probably exaggerated the price he got.)
- You want some profit to pay off some credit card debt and buy a new car.
- You need more money than that to cover your mortgage.
No doubt your Realtor provided you with comparables when she came to the listing appointment. The comparables showed you what houses like yours in your area sold for in recent months. Based on that info, she arrived at an asking price.
Did the asking price she suggested make you gag? Did you want to throw her out of your house just for even suggesting such a thing? Did you insist on listing it for a significant amount more?
Then its probably your fault that your house hasn’t sold.
Its OK If Its Your Fault
If it is your fault, that’s OK. Wanting more for your property then the market will currently pay does not make you a bad person. It doesn’t mean your greedy. It only means that nobody is going to buy it.
But now, you have to make a choice. To sell or not to sell. If you are not even getting anyone interested in seeing your property at all because of your price (believe me your Realtor will tell you if that’s the case), then perhaps it would be better to take it off the market and sell in a few years when prices begin to appreciate again. That’s OK, and really your Realtor won’t mind. Time is money and she really doesn’t want to waste time trying to sell the unsellable.
However, if economic circumstances, a job offer out of town, retirement to sunny Florida or any other reason makes it impossible for you to wait to sell your house, then there really is no other choice than to lower your asking price. Its painful, but it must be done. However, taking less for your house might not be that bad. Here’s why:
It May Not Be So Bad
If you’re selling your property so you can move to a new town, its very likely that housing prices have decreased there as well, and depending on which state, prices might have decrease significantly. That means that you can get more house for less money then you would have been able to during the market boom.
If creditors are harassing you and you’re selling your property for economic reasons, imagine the peace you’ll get when everyone is paid off (or at least satisfied) and your living comfortable in a new place with out any more final notices and unsympathetic phone calls.
So, if your condo, co-op or house is not selling, take a moment and ask yourself truthfully, “Is it my fault? Do I want more money for my house than someone is currently willing to pay for it?” If the answer is “yes”, don’t feel bad about it, but you do have some decisions to make.


areas where the soil looks hard. Use the screwdriver test. If you can’t easily push a screwdriver into the soil, its compacted.