Reasons Your House Isn’t Selling

So your house is on the market… but it hasn’t sold. It’s been weeks and the showings are slowing down, and nobody seems interested in buying. What could be the reason? 

There are plenty of reasons your home may not be gathering the interest you think it should be. We’ll dive into some of the common ones and how to fix them. 

1. The price isn’t right 

There are hundreds of considerations to put into pricing your home. Depending on market conditions, competition in your neighbourhood, the current state of your home, and what buyers are currently looking for, you may get a totally different price than what you were looking for. If you have limited interest, it may be time to lower the price. That being said, just because you lower the price doesn’t mean that is what people will pay! When priced appropriately, you may be able to inspire higher bids for buyers who want to get a good deal and are willing to pay for it. 

2. Listing photos

How are the photos of your property? Are they high resolution, well lit, and retouched? Or are they grainy, low quality, yellowed, or perhaps your home wasn’t clean when they were taken? Buyers are scrolling the internet with their agents looking at hundreds of listings, and if your property doesn’t stand out as at least putting in the effort to make it look nice, it’s probably passing them by. 

3. Market Conditions

If your home isn’t selling, but you’ve done everything right, it might be that the market is bad at the time. If you’re in a buyer’s market - there are lots of properties on sale and few buyers looking to purchase them. This is rarely the case any more with the housing shortage in Ontario and the high price of properties in Ottawa, but it can happen. It may also be specific to your neighbourhood’s market - perhaps lots of homes are selling, or plenty of people were in a rush to leave and sold at a lower price, making your listing price too high. Whatever the reason, it could be completely not your fault. To address this, you’ll want to work with your realtor to adapt and figure out how to make your property more appealing. 

4. You didn’t work with a professional

If you’re selling your house on your own, you may have missed some important details. If the listing isn’t on MLS (realtor.ca), it may have been missed by a ton of potential buyers. If the price wasn’t appropriately measured by a professional and experienced realtor, it may have scared off buyers. Perhaps the photos weren’t done by a realtor approved photographer, and buyers didn’t really get to see what your property is like. Whatever the reason, a professional real estate agent will have worked with sellers in the past and be able to troubleshoot for you. Working with a professional is the best way to get your home sold fast for the best price possible!