I think most of the homes which fail to sell have one of the following problems… either the home is way overpriced or the agent has made some significant mistakes marketing the property online… either the pictures are a poor representation of the property or the agent has failed to mention one or more of property’s important selling features (which I have seen many times).

Just recently, I saw a listing which stated that a home with acreage had a cistern (a water holding tank… which usually means you have to haul water). I had a client ask me if the property had a well. So, I called the listing agent to find out. The listing agent said the home did not have a cistern, but instead it had water piped to it by a water company (just like homes in the city). Agents conduct MLS searches by property features. I am sure many people never checked out this property because it appeared to lack water. This was a significant mistake on the listing!

Many agents no longer preview new listing, but instead rely on the online photos to be a good representation of the home. So, online photos are very important! I recently sold a home which had been on the market for a long time just because the pictures were terrible!

In today's market many homes are overpriced, but some of the blame for overpriced listings has to fall on the shoulders of some agents who overprice homes just to get the listing. They take an overpriced listing to generate other business… to gain buyers who don’t buy the overpriced listing, but something else.

Real estate is a product... and ALL products require the right marketing. Pricing is an important part of marketing. But pricing is only one part of marketing. But, too many agents are trying to compete on price alone... and many times this is a disservice to clients.

Douglas Fuller, Realtor, GRI, ABR, e-PRO
Certified Relocation Specialist
Prudential Northern Arizona Real Estate http://www.douglasfuller.com
Direct (928) 607-0242

Believe it or not Exposure, getting your properties shown and noticed. . Of course it is true... price it right and they will come- but most agents, offices and especially some franchises have no clue how to market properties.They talk a good game and have lots of "listing tools"but in the end their marketing plans are ineffective and their agents are frustrated. Especially in this market with a huge amount of inventory you have to work hard to market your properties. Most agents don't. They take a listing and rely on MLS or a corporate website to sell it. Real Estate is hard work and is about to get alot harder after June 30th the agents who are not up to the challenge will fail. If you don't have a proven "secret sauce" that makes your homes sell before others you are not going to be successful at marketing your properties.
This is the largest obstacle for todays realtors. I have spent 15 years perfecting my "secret Sauce" and it is still improving. Marketing and exposure are the key to a successful sale but very difficult with so much inventory so you must work harder at it.

Obviously our track record speaks for itself!

Georgia Westcott

"Brokers" ... That dont have a clue and need to retire!

Price is absolutley the #1 issue at this point. The well priced apartments are recieving multiple bids. The units that are not priced correctly are not getting any traffic.

Price. plain and simple. Here if a house doesn't sell is due to overpriced and on some occasions way too much work to bring it up to livable conditions.

I agree with you, Don, it always revolves around price. I always tell my sellers that it is a housing MARKET, just like the stock market, and use the analogy of if you bought stock at $80 a share a few years ago but have to sell it now and it's trading at $50/share, what do you do? Can you still sell it at $80? NO YOU CAN'T--because the market has shifted and what you currently hold has a market value of $50. It's the exact same thing for housing. Of course this is hard to accept under any circumstances, especially with all the personal ties an individual will have to a house. It's easier to dump stock at a loss than one's own home. I've personally had to unload my principal residence in a market in which my home had lost 50% of its value compared with 3 years before. Yes, 50%--but we HAD to move. Was it a bitter pill to swallow? Yes. But did we suck it up and move on? Yes, we HAD TO. But it was certainly a psychological ordeal. It's a loss of personal livelihood, of income. You mourn the loss and it is painful...

In the listing process: Getting the homeowner to decide on a realistic price to offer his/her home. Some still remember when their homes were worth 30%-40% (or more) more. Plus, lots of sellers think their homes are absolutely unique. Or that some work they put into their home justifies a price far above what the comps are selling for. "But my home is better than that one . . . " Or "I put 2 months into painting this home myself, room by room . . . " Often backed up with "I want to sell, but I'm not going to give my home away."