"For Sale"...for 55 days and counting!

HOUSING BUZZ: Hey, all! Jeff here with Housing.buzz and I want to share an update on the property I showcased to you over a month ago on the Housing Buzz YouTube channel. This property in a Washington DC suburb hit the market at an “Active” listing 55 days ago, and despite the current scarcity of affordable housing inventory in the market, the home has not sold yet, even at its $599K asking price, which is near the lower quadrant of pricing for detached single family homes in the area, especially for a relatively modern home built in 2009.

I have a few ideas about why that might be.

Firstly, there's an unfortunate parking situation at the back of the property. The house backs up against another property on a shared driveway at the end of an alley, and the occupant of that other property, a renter, unfortunately (and unfairly, I’d say) parks a large recreational van in the shared drive. This makes it nearly impossible, or at least very difficult, for potential homeowners to easily utilize the rear garage of the home for sale.

Next, the price has not changed in 55 days? Really? That tells me the seller may be difficult to work with, or may not be motivated to accept the types of offers they may have wanted — that is, multiple offers in a frenzy with each trying to out-compete the others by waiving ‘unfriendly’ (in the seller’s mind) contingencies like a Home Inspection or even appraisal.

Another challenge with this property listing is that, as a Realtor myself, I've found it difficult to schedule viewings. They require a minimum 24-hour notice, and some requests for viewings requesting that 24-hour timeframe have been denied. The property listing has “agent-only notes” that suggest that although the home may have an occasional occupant still in the process of moving out, it’s mostly a vacant home. It's crucial for Realtors to have access to the home for potential buyers, especially remote buyer, or “sight unseen” buyers which is a fairly common category of buyer in recent years.

The property simply shouldn't be sitting on the market for 55 days, especially at the price point we're talking about.

I’ll persist and view the home if I can, but my key takeaways so far: sellers need to be more aware that creating obstacles like the restrictive viewing policies, can impact the sale of their homes. And engaging the neighbor and/or the Home Owners Association about the parking space issue now and suggest in the property listing that a remedy is on the way would be wise. Otherwise some potential buyers will see that issue and just move on. Addressing these concerns could potentially expedite the selling process.

Interestingly, this property has been “Temp Off” the marketing for a few weeks now…?…perhaps they’re addressing one or more of the ideas we shared.

Remember, when you’re the seller, you’re really the vendor — the buyer is the true ‘client’ in the home sale transaction. Impress the client.

See my related video here on YouTube.

Not a subscriber to Housing.buzz? Subscribe for free at www.Housing.buzz, and please subscribe to our Youtube channel, too -- @HousingBuzz