If you’re ready to move to a different home, or if you want to cash in on your Katy property investment, it will be time to put your property up for sale. It’s normal for a home sale to take somewhere between 65 and 93 days, depending on the local market, the state of the home, and other factors. But what if you’ve listed the property for a couple of months and you’ve had zero interested buyers?
There are many potential reasons why no one is interested in buying your Katy home. Understanding the root cause will help you decide which steps to take next.
Why No One Is Buying Your Home
These are some of the most common reasons why Katy, Texas homes aren’t selling:
- You’re too picky with offers. If you’ve gotten several offers, but none of them have felt right, it could be that you’re simply too picky with these offers. What’s stopping you from accepting them? Are the buyers offering too low of a price? Are they asking for too many contingencies? Do you think you’ll get a better deal if you simply hold out? If you find yourself in this position, it may be time to reevaluate your priorities. Are you interested in getting the best possible price, or would you rather sell the home quickly? There’s no single right answer here, but you should understand your own goals.
- The price is too high. In many cases, a home won’t sell simply because it’s priced too high. Katy is a competitive market, with relatively high home prices to match. However, there’s an upper limit even for eager Katy buyers. Look at similar homes in similar neighborhoods—are they selling for a similar amount of money, or do they seem much lower priced? You may be able to generate more interest by dropping the price. Even if that means reducing your profitability, it may be worth the move.
- Your home stands out—in a bad way. Most homeowners interested in selling are eager to make their home stand out from the competition. Unfortunately, it’s possible to stand out in a bad way. If your home deviates from the norm in your neighborhood, with a bold exterior or a fundamentally different build style, it could drive otherwise interested buyers away. Some of these issues are easier to fix than others.
- Your staging is unfavorable. Home staging is an important part of the selling process, giving you the opportunity to make your home look more neutral and more aesthetically pleasing to the majority of interested buyers. But if you’ve skipped over this step, or if you haven’t staged effectively, you could be doing your property a major disservice. Consider hiring a professional to help you with the staging, or revisiting your own techniques.
- The curb appeal is lacking. Many buyers form a first impression on a home based on what they see from the outside, whether they look at a photo or drive by the property in person. The attractiveness of the exterior is what’s known as the property’s “curb appeal.” If your property has little to no curb appeal, you can make a few investments to improve it. For example, you can power wash the siding, you can invest in better landscaping, and you can replace your front door if it doesn’t offer a good look.
- You haven’t marketed the property enough. Marketing is crucial if you want to attract the right buyers to your property. Accordingly, if you haven’t listed your property on the right channels, or if you haven’t spent enough time or money on advertising, you won’t generate interest from the buyers you need. This is usually an easy fix; you need to explore more potential marketing channels, and step up your budget and planning to get better results. It’s also a good idea to analyze your existing efforts, and determine your most effective channels thus far.
- You’re using low-quality images and videos. These days, most homebuyers begin their search online, where they can look at photos and videos of properties that might interest them. If your visual materials don’t show off the property in the best possible light, or if they’re not professionally presented, it can be a bad look for your home. Consider hiring a professional photographer if you haven’t already.
- There’s a specific problem that buyers can’t get over. In some cases, a property won’t sell quickly because there’s a specific issue that most buyers can’t get past. For example, there may be a structural problem with the foundation, or there may be a kitchen in dire need of renovation. Sometimes, you can identify this issue by questioning buyers who walked away, and you can fix the issue with a small repair project. Other times, you may be forced to find an alternative strategy.
- The timing is off. The real estate market can be fickle, even in a popular area like Katy. If you time your sale poorly, or if you listed your property in the wrong season or under the wrong economic conditions, it can make it much harder to close a sale.
- You’re listening to bad advice. Finally, it could be that you’re listening to bad advice. If you’re listing the property yourself, without the help of a real estate agent, you may be trusting your own instincts despite having minimal experience selling property. You may also be trusting the recommendations of a real estate agent who has little experience, or who is unfamiliar with the Katy, Texas area. Depending on the nature of your agreement and the state of your property sale, it may be worth taking advice from other agents and experts.
Sell Your Katy Home Faster
Are you interested in selling your Katy property faster, or are you just eager to reduce the stress of the home selling process? Contact Green Residential today for help with all your Katy real estate needs, or to find out more about what we do!
Michael is Green Residential’s Vice President. He helps to keep the team organized and running smoothly. Prior to joining Green Residential, he spent 12 years working at Cadence Bank in the mortgage loan servicing department, where he specialized in loan audits, modifications, and bankruptcy-related issues for the mortgage portfolio.
Latest posts by Michael Brown
(see all)
CALL US