Five Common Reasons Why Homes Don’t Sell Quickly

Selling your home can be a stressful process. You sometimes have to agonisingly wait months for an interested party to come forward. But sometimes, homes simply refuse to sell. This leaves owners in limbo, asking questions and not knowing what to do next.

However, you can improve the chances of your home being sold by first identifying the reasons it’s not selling. Sometimes, it can be something as simple as not advertising your home enough.

So, Property Expert Joshua Houston is here to give you a helping hand. He’s revealed five common reasons for homes not selling quickly. 

1: Unattractive photos

One of the biggest reasons why some properties struggle to sell has nothing to do with the home itself, but instead the photos. Poor-quality photos can make a space look dark and grainy, which puts off most buyers who typically want brightness. They also fail to give a good representation of the space available. If your property is big then show this advantage. Consider investing in a professional photographer, as much as it might cost you a bit extra, it will also help increase the speed of the selling process. Good photos go a long way, and it’s possible that a buyer will increase their offer based on them. 

2: Smells

Entering a room and immediately being met with a bad odour will put most people off. Ensure that your home smells good for viewings, as this will leave the potential buyer feeling positive. If you’ve become blind to the smell, ask a neighbour to come round and give their thoughts. Common areas for bad smells include the kitchen, bathroom and boiler room, so take special attention to these areas when going about your clean. Candles, along with plug-in air fresheners are other affordable ways to get your house smelling nice.

3: Overpricing

Another mistake sellers make is having too high an asking price for their home. If it is too far over market value then this can turn many buyers away, as they feel there’s no way they could afford it. Instead, put your price within a reasonable distance from the minimum price you’d accept. It’s important to remember that if you want a quick sale, then usually this comes at some sort of discount. If you want to maintain your asking price, then it will naturally take longer to sell. So you have to decide what you value more, the speed of the sale, or the cost.

4: Not enough marketing

When looking to sell a property, most people's instinct is to call an estate agent and let them deal with it. However, you might be missing out on potential buyers. Social media is a great way to advertise your home. Facebook particularly has many local groups where you can advertise to gather interest. If you don’t have the time, you can instead conduct more research on the estate agent you go with. Some are more progressive and use social media to their advantage. This could rapidly increase the speed of your property being sold.

5: Niche features

Niche features can be a big problem when it comes to selling your home. As much as you might like an all-purple interior, it isn’t as popular among the general public. So if your property is struggling to sell, then consider changing or removing any unusual characteristics. This can be as simple as a paint job or could be ripping out a pool that is expensive to maintain. 

Joshua Houston, Property Expert at WhatCost:

‘’When selling your home you want two things: a good price and a quick selling process. Having no or low offers can slow down this process, which might be stopping you from moving into your future dream home.

My tips above should help make your home more marketable and get it seen by a wider audience. So, hopefully, you will be receiving an abundance of offers soon.’’