It’s no surprise there have been a lot more listings expiring recently than did in the past couple of years. In fact, according to Realtracs, 173 homes’ listings have expired just since January 1, 2023, in Williamson County, TN alone (today is February 8,2023). What is the problem? Well, it’s no secret that the market has slowed down a little bit due to rates, but there is also a lot more behind this. Homes ARE still selling right now, some of them still with multiple offers the first day they hit the market. But why do those homes sell and yours didn’t? Well let’s examine this, its multi-faceted.
Is your home overpriced? There is a tough gap right now that I wrote about recently (Read it here). There is a very high chance that simply lowering the price of your home will bring better results. The old saying is “Price overcomes all objections”. Something I hear a lot from sellers is “but I need to make that much money on the home”. That’s fair, I empathize with you. However, let me let you in on a little secret that most agents are afraid to tell you- buyers don’t care! If this is your situation perhaps selling right now should go on the backburner until values come back up. Or better yet, maybe you have the option of renting out the property for a while and making some passive income on it as opposed to selling. Sometimes though, price is not the only issue. For example, staging your home is more important than ever. Like I said homes ARE selling right now, some of them. Usually, the ones with the most and fastest success are the ones that are the nicest home in the neighborhood at the best price. Do you need to paint? Are your light fixtures hideous? Ugly, dirty carpet? What is your curb appeal like? These are all things that as a listing agent I will be suggesting. Don’t get me wrong, I do understand you do not want to remodel the entire home before listing it. There are small things that you can do though with minimum investment that have a large emotional impact to buyers when they walk in the home. Some other things I see that bug me are agents that take their own photos. This is embarrassing. The only time an agent should ever be doing this is if they are a professional photographer! If I’m a buyer scrolling through listings in bed one night and the pictures are dim and there is a pile of dirty clothes in the background, you better believe I’ll be scrolling right on past to the next listing. If your agent isn’t counseling you on some of these things and is afraid to have the hard conversations with you, it might be time to reconsider some other options and hire a professional. One other thing before I wrap this up that is often the problem is lack of marketing! What did your prior agent do to market the home? Did they just put a sign in the yard and list on the MLS and not do anything else? So often this is the case! Unfortunately, there are a lot of newer agents in the marketplace that got in in the last few years because real estate was the “IT” thing. These individuals simply do not possess the skillset needed to succeed in our current marketplace.
It’s often devastating when your home doesn’t sell. Sometimes though a pair of fresh eyes and a new approach is all you need to turn things around!
Brooke Tighe
REALTOR®|LHC
Luxury Homes of Tennessee
615.497.3506 Direct
615.472.8961 Office
Brooke’s Market News 
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