I don't want to reduce the selling price of my house, what are my options?  Nationwide research shows there are six main reasons why homes don't sell:  price, condition, location, listing agent, local economy and marketing plan.  If your asking price was derived from a good comparative market analysis based on recently sold properties for your neighborhood and your price is right, let's examine the other three of the areas where you have options:

1. Condition -  Your home must be in the best shape and show ready if you want top dollar.  Finish all unfinished projects, spruce up the curb appeal, get rid of clutter, depersonalized, make sure walls are painted in warm neutral color, keep everything bright, airy and organize and make sure your home is spotless.  Additionally, you may want to utilize a professional home staging consultant.  Research shows that homes which have been staged sell faster and usually for 10-15% more than similar un-staged homes.

3.  Listing Agent - Unfortunately, there are bad listing agents who will tell you what they think you want to hear,  let you overprice the house in order to get the listing, not market it properly, fail to screen for qualified buyers and be unresponsive to interest from other agents hoping to sell the house themselves so that they don't have to split the commission.  A good listing agent can make a big difference.

 

4. Marketing Plan - Besides needing a proven marketing system that allows your home to get the most exposure, a  listing agent needs to also be creative. Successful marketing tells a buyer why this particular home is better than the others on the market.  Photos and description of your property should entice buyers to want to see more of the home in person.  Make sure your listings have professional looking photos and descriptions that highlight all of the important features of the home.   Offer buyer's incentives such as money towards the buyer's closing costs, buy down of the mortgage interest rate, pay points, buy a home protection plan, pre-pay homeowner association dues(especially for condos and townhomes) and if possible offer to carry a seller second.  This will expand your pool of potential buyers.  These incentives can create a significant financial impact for the buyer, yet won't cost a substantial amount for the seller like a  price reduction.