Iowa City Real Estate – Expired Listings: Why Didn’t Your Home Sell?

You have a home in the Iowa City area and it didn’t sell this year. Why not? Was it the economy? Could it be that your home didn’t sell, because there were simply more homes on the market in the Iowa City area than buyers to buy them? If that is true, could you put your house on the market in the New Year with the exact same strategy as last time? The real estate market in the Iowa City area is improving so it seems like you’ll be in good shape, right? Maybe. But, I doubt it. Well priced homes that show well and are marketed correctly do sell. In any market. If yours didn’t, then here are three questions for you to ponder on before you put your house back on the market.

1) Did you prepare your home properly before putting it on the market? You might think you did, but what kind of buyer feedback did you get while it was listed? At the time you may not have paid too much attention. Now is a good time to review the buyer feedback and see if there’s anything you can do to improve how your house looks for future showings. The devil is in the details. Even if it seemed to you to be picky feedback at the time, it would be a good time to act on it before putting your home back on the market.

2) Was your home priced right? This is the leading cause why homes don’t sell first time round and the most difficult for sellers to understand. Pricing a home right is the single most important aspect of getting a home sold. (I know I sound like a broken record when I say that, but unfortunately I can’t change the facts). What you paid for the house or how much you need to get out of the sale shouldn’t be motivating factors for pricing. The price needs to reflect what the market will bear. If your house wasn’t priced right then you need to review that before putting it back on the market.

Of course I realize this is not something you can do on your own. You’ll need a Realtor to help on this one – This is where choosing the right Realtor is important. Some will tell you what you want to hear. Others will tell you what you NEED to hear. If you’ve read any of my other posts you’ll have figured out that I’m one of the latter. The Iowa City real estate market has taken a turn for the better and 2013 looks like it could be a positive time for listing a home. That said, there is still stiff competition in some neighborhoods and price ranges. Arbitrarily deciding that the market is improving and you can list your home at a higher price is not an option. You really need to listen to the market and price your home accordingly.

3) Last Question: Did Your Realtor do a good job marketing your home? If we go ahead and assume your house was priced right and showed well, the only thing left is to review how your home was marketed. Did your agent cover their bases? 94% of buyers are online. Did they have a strong online marketing plan. Or was it marketed in such a way that it wasn’t noticed above all the noise of all the other homes out there?  I don’t need to tell you that in a market where there’s a lot of competition it’s more important than ever to have a marketing plan that “pops” and gets your house noticed!

These are questions to ponder before you put your house back on the market in the New Year. It’s frustrating and disappointing when your house doesn’t sell. Before getting into real estate I was where you are right now a couple of times too. Taking your emotions out of it and just looking at the facts is the best way to deal with it. Understanding the process of selling real estate helps. You figure out what the problem is and you work on a solution. If you’d like some help with that you can reach me 7 days a week with questions.

Are you looking for the right Realtor to help you navigate the complexities of the real estate market, all the while looking out for you and your money? Sound advice and guidance is just a phone call, text or email away. Call Denise now at 319-400-0268.