When you listed your home for sale, you expected it to be sold — you did not expect to have your listing expire. That often leaves you with a feeling of disappointment, maybe even bitterness, because your listing expired.
But as they say, if you fall down, you get back up.
Why didn’t your home sell?
It comes down to three major factors:
- Price
- Condition
- Location
In this post, I’ll focus on condition. Active home buyers start their searches online and will judge the condition of your home based on photos.
This listing expired
“Why can’t you agents sell my home?” This was the opening question in a phone call that I received last week from a homeowner who had expired a listing 3 times.
With this seller on the phone, I looked at the photos of the home to get a feel for the property’s condition.
Here is what I saw:
- A Bush in front of the porch.
- A kitchen sink.
- The back of the front door with vertical blinds.
- A bathroom mirror from the big box hardware store.
- The corner of the house.
- A showerhead and tub.
The seller, who supplied the agent with the listing photos, explained “what I was trying to show……..”
I told him: If I didn’t see what you were trying to show, then most buyers would not see it either.
Buyers flip through photos in milliseconds to decide if they want to see your house. They won’t analyze photos for non-obvious details.
Professional Photos are A Great Tool
Photos are your property’s first impressions to homebuyers.
Professionally done photos attract more eyeballs to your property, and therefore, feet to your front door.
We live in a convenience-based society where people tour your house by photos first.
When we list your home for sale, we give you a checklist to prepare your house for the best photos we can take.
You’ll show off your property in great condition with excellent photos that show you have taken good care of your property.
Eyes on great photos contribute to feet to your door.
More Than Professional Photos
Other factors may contribute to why your listing expired. Better photos are not the only cure.
At the Casas de Walker team, we have had our own listings expire, even with professional photos.
Other factors come into play: price, condition of the interior, location, floorplan. One listing expired because of solar panels with a loan the seller wouldn’t pay off.
In our experience, it pays to focus about the things that CAN be changed, such as the presentation, overall feel of your home, and the price of the home.
Listing Review
Once a home listing expires, your phone will ring incessantly with agents trying to relist your property. But home sellers typically do one of three things:
- Take the property off the market completely.
- Relist with the previous agent with a new strategy.
- Relist with a NEW agent.
We have talked with home sellers who gave up on moving or buying a new home. Their motivation evaporated.
We have seen some home sellers relist with their same agent, but try a new strategy – typically around pricing and condition.
Our approach is to show you how our marketing plan is different. We will review your prior listing(s) and present what we might do differently to attract people to your home. We will also talk about price and condition for the current market.
Example of an Expired Listing Review
The following is an amalgamation of experiences, rather than a singular home, giving you examples of things we’d do differently
- Missing Data in key fields.
- Missing keywords in the property description.
- Incorrect addresses and property type.
- Photos of clutter
- Photos of poor lighting
- Lack of social media visibility.
- Lack of video marketing.
- Inaccurate description,
- Missing details.
- A home built and decorated in the 90s priced the same as new construction with current design. Time Capsule.
In our marketing plan for your home or vacant land, we will be different and market your property differently. We will advise you on pricing. We will advise you on possible improvements you can make.
Can People Find Your Home for Sale?
When we list your home for sale in Port St Lucie and surrounding areas, we do great multi-channel marketing.
- Direct Mail to at least 200 homes.
- Social Media Organic Marketing on at least 4 platforms, utilizing video, carousels, stories, and posts.
- Paid Social Media Advertising.
- Local Groups on Social Media Platforms
- Local Online Marketplaces.
- Single Page Website for your home.
- Email to 300 Keller Williams Agents
- Social Media Share to over 900 Keller Williams agents in the Treasure Coast area.
If you permit us to have an open house, we’ll have a fresh week of marketing through most of these channels again.
We will provide you, the home seller, with additional tools to be our partner in getting the word out.
