As buyers agents, we often see houses that have been on the market for a long time – sometimes several months
In many cases, even though the asking price for these properties has been ‘adjusted’ downward several times, the property still doesn’t attract buyers.
Part of our role in assisting buyers is to fully research any property we bring to our client. This includes an assessment of market value, and a review of asking price history since it hit the market.
It’s our observation that, in the majority of cases, a property that remains unsold after an unusually long time, started out at a price higher than could be justified in the market.
Research indicates that within a few days of a property first appearing on the market, more than 80% of buyers in the price-range and looking in the area, will know about it and have decided whether they’re interested. Further marketing (signboard, open inspections, local letter-drops etc) may increase exposure to 90%+, over the next few days. But typically, within about 2 weeks, everyone currently in the market for such a house knows about it & has made a choice – either to make an offer, or to find something else.
If there have been no offers, and the property’s looking its best, the only sure way to attract more buyers is to change it’s position in the market.
