Stale Listings

One home you are interested in has been on the market 7 days, the other 190 days. They are about the same size. The seven day old listing has some deferred maintenance and is in a pleasant but average neighborhood. The other is closer the downtown and priced 5 thousand less at 139. It should be a slam dunk, buy closer to downtown in a nicer area and a nicer home. The 2 bedrooms are a bit smaller but the 2 car garage, new finishes and price should make this an easy decision. But why has the home most would agree the "nicer" one, some would argue the "better investment" have been on the market for so long.

What must be wrong with the home? There may very well be something wrong, an inspection will tell us that. Why though has it not sold? Is the age of the listing a reason not to buy?

Try your best to figure out why it has not sold and decide if those things are important to you and your potential buyers a few years from now. One, it was overpriced at the get go. The first few weeks and months of the listing are the homes best chances of selling, did they make an adjustment too late. It was listed in October, what was the market like then? Did it have the chance it deserved? Has it been in the same condition for the duration of the listing or did they waste the first month of the listing, and then out in new carpet and paint? Do your homework and you will be able to move forward comfortably to an offer or to another home.