Your property is not selling: what to do?

Weeks have passed since your property was listed online or with agencies and nothing is happening? You are arranging viewings without receiving any offers? Or perhaps potential buyers are not appreciating your property at its true value? There is no doubt that your sale is dragging on due to an identifiable problem, which will need to be resolved to break the deadlock. Let us see if we can help.

Why is your property not selling?

Each house or flat should be able to sell relatively quickly (within 6 months maximum), provided that favourable conditions are met. At first glance, three points may be problematic.

A sale price that is too high

This is certainly the number one issue faced by struggling sellers. The value of the property remains too often a subjective criterion, which owners believe they can set at will and not according to market price.

It is necessary to keep in mind that the sale price cannot depend on the needs brought by future projects, nor on the owner’s personal appreciation of the property they love. The opinion of any non-professional in the real estate field should also be taken with caution.

A price that is too high can be spotted fairly easily, by observing current sales in the area or even simply the asking prices of similar properties. In particular, if the listings generate no calls, the price should be examined carefully.

A poorly presented property

Whether the listing brings viewings or not, a sale can be hindered by imperfect presentation. This may include:

• posting non-selling photos;
• disorder within the property during the viewings;
• dated or unsuitable decoration for sale;
• layout that would need reviewing;
• common areas requiring works.

For photos and disorder, it is easy to remedy once the awareness is there. It is a different matter for the other points, which may require investment in terms of time and money.

A lack of commercial approach

Finally, the brake on selling your property may simply be… you. Not everyone has easy contact with anyone who enters their home. And if it is not always obvious to be on the same wavelength as strangers viewing the property, it is even less easy to present the property’s strengths while downplaying its defects.

Because what may seem an advantage to you may on the contrary work against you. You know the property perfectly well and may tend to do too much, to present details that would have gone unnoticed and which would work against you. For example, recounting a water leak that occurred the year before and the repair that followed may lead the potential buyer to question the condition of the roof. Likewise, insisting a little too much on certain qualities of the property can give the impression of overplaying one’s role and ultimately of wanting to hide something else. The balance is essential but delicate to find.

Correct the defects and sell!

Let us turn to what you can put in place to secure an offer quickly, after identifying the factors penalising your transaction.

Entrust the matter to a professional

Whether you plan to entrust your sale to them or not, a real estate agent’s visit is always a good idea. Indeed, they can give you good advice on the best way to present your property, and their general opinion on the sale project.

Above all, their price estimate can guide you towards the right range. Do not forget that the agent operating in your area knows the prices practiced in the neighbourhood and visits properties there every day. If you find the estimate they give you a bit low, ask them questions to understand the reason.

Finally, if you need to sell quickly, following their recommendations and signing a mandate with them will be the best way to achieve this. Thanks to their real estate and area experience, their network and their talent for presenting things, the result should be quick if you sell at the right price.

Prepare the property for viewings

A property for sale will receive viewings from people of various backgrounds whose tastes may vary. As such, the key word will be depersonalisation. Away with trinkets and overly distinctive paintings, pack away family photos and if you plan a coat of paint before the sale, prefer the neutrality of white.

In the same way, ensure you highlight the spaces by decluttering rooms. Large furniture or too many objects can make a formerly pleasant space feel cramped. With the direct consequence of visitors leaving or undervaluing the property. A simple sort and disposing of some furniture can change the appearance of the property, so if in doubt do not hesitate to ask a third party’s opinion.

Try to trigger the love-at-first-sight effect

To go further on presentation, certain actions can be attempted to trigger the love-at-first-sight effect with your visitors. This is essentially about decoration, or even small low-cost improvements which, once again, will change the visitor’s perception in your favour. To do this, find out about current trends in decoration, add a rug here, a curtain there, change the wall colour to obtain a pleasing result for the greatest number.

If you can, also invest in improvements likely to seduce the potential buyer. A pellet stove, a whirlpool bath for example, are not necessarily costly pieces of equipment and which increase the property’s comfort in the visitor’s mind. You will not lose financially as they also justify a slightly higher sale price and can speed up the arrival of offers.

Anticipate negotiation arguments

Finally, check whether your property has defects on which the buyer may base a very low offer. If so, consider carrying out the repairs or improvements yourself.

If major works are planned, take the initiative to have quotes to present to the visitor. You will thus avoid negotiations of an amount well above the actual cost of the works to be carried out. As before, having the works carried out and including their amount in the sale price will make your property more attractive from the listing onwards, provided they are visible. More visitors implies a greater chance of selling!

Real estate sales are a trade and it is advisable to entrust its proper running to a professional for those who want to sell quickly and well. Upstream of the sales process, listing the blocking points and anticipating their resolution will save time for everyone, and especially for you. Same for the strengths, which are to be listed and calmly emphasised to the real estate agent or visitor. For the rest, make yourself available and if you try to sell alone, work on your sales pitch and relax the atmosphere with positive anecdotes about the property or the neighbourhood. You are now ready to carry out your transaction!