Selling Your Boston Condo after the Listing Expires
A common question Boston condo sellers ask is ‘Why didn’t my condo sell’ when their condo becomes an expired listing on the MLS. There are a number of reasons when a Boston condo doesn’t sell.
Why Didn’t My Condo Sell?
In this blog post we are going to dig in, and discover, the reasons why your Boston condo didn’t sell. And what to do when its marked as an “expired listing” on MLS. Let’s examine potential reasons your home didn’t sell:
Questions to ask when your condo becomes an expired listing
Was my Boston condo overpriced?
What is the condition of the condo?
Was the broker Actively selling the home?
What feedback did the broker and buyers give you?
Did you receive any offers at all?
Tips and Tricks to take a Boston condo from expired to sold
Price your Boston correctly and it will sell
Find a broker who specializes in hard to sell property
Make a few changes to the condition of the condo.
Hire a local neighborhood broker to sell your home
Absorb feedback and apply it to your condo
Understand where the market expects your condo to sell
This article will use an example of an expired listing that we put under agreement in South Boston for close to full price in less than two weeks. This condo received only 1 offer in 2017, and in the first two weeks we had two different written offers. This condo/loft is located in the heart of South Boston.
How do I know if my Boston Condo is overpriced?
First question we ask homeowners in Boston is how did you come up with the list price for your condo? – There are many risks when you price your home too high. There are also a number of potential reasons your home didn’t sell.
Did you take advice from a professional real estate agent or did you come up with the price yourself?
many times condo owners will say that the price the broker wanted to list their home at was too low. A common misconception for homeowners is that because a brokers wants to price their home, at a price that will cause the home to sell, it must be too low! Wrong. This is one of the many myths people have about Boston real estate agents. A home does two things it either sells or it sits, and ultimately becomes an expired listing. An expired listing is a quick way to devalue your home, so it’s important the price is right the first time.
This isn’t to say that Boston brokers are always correct in pricing because we are human and we all make mistakes. It’s our livelihood so the chances of them being wrong are significantly less, and a good real estate agent will know the neighborhood and do a market analysis with comparable properties like yours.
Did you price your home like Zillow told you to? If you went with the ‘Zestimate’ price than there’s a good chance you may be way off – Zillow home values are not accurate.
Advice for selling your expired condo listing:
There’s a good chance that if you didn’t price your home with a professional you may have priced it incorrectly. Whether that means too low, or too high depends on the way the market responds to it. If your home didn’t sell, and you didn’t price your home with professional advice, there’s a likely chance that’s why it expired.
Some people may say your Boston condo is priced too low, some people may say your home is priced too high – block out these opinions they’re noise, instead take the advice of a localbroker who knows the neighborhood.
It only takes one ready, willing, and able buyer for you to sell your home. If you’re still wondering why your home didn’t sell, let’s take a closer look at the location and condition of the property.
Find a Boston Real Estate Agent to Help Market your Listing
First, you should find a Boston broker to help because we understand the importance of what an expert brings to the table. We use a professional photographer who uses all sorts of software programs to give the images warm and inviting effects. Since 95% of buyers first see a home online we make sure our homes are looking good on Google.
A Well Written Listing Descriptions Will Help Sell Your Condo
We hit on all the key pieces of writing an incredible listing description. What’s the most important factor in selling a Boston condo? It’s location. Wait, you may say, my condo is on a main street though, that’s not a good location? Well the glass if half full my friends, while it’s on a main street it’s also in one of the most desirable neighborhoods in Boston, in a location near the best restaurants, a walk to the park or the T stop… so it depends on how you look at it. Next, we hit on urgency. Nothing creates action like a sense of urgency. “Don’t miss your chance to own one of Bostons prime pieces of real estate.” What does our Boston condos have that other homes in the neighborhood don’t? Is it a lot with high ceilings, and a lot of other great updates. Then we hit on emotion and create a warm image. Buyers have to be able to visualize themselves living there ‘A living room perfect for spending quality time w/friends or a love one.’ If you are anything like me, there’s no feeling better than spending quality time w/ your spouse..
Do other homes for sale have video marketing?
We go the extra steps by creating videos to market your home, with the pictures in an order that makes sense and gives you a virtual walk through with warm music. There may not be any one reason why your home sells however, there is a reason your home sells and when your work to market it strongly to sell it, it will sell.
Reverse Prospecting our Listings to Potential Buyers Agents
One of the best ways to sell a home is to find the people who are already looking for a home like yours and market directly to them. Our email subject line is “Ryan, could your buyer be interested?” We attach a message that explains they are receiving the email because they have created a saved search within the MLS meaning they have a potentially interested buyer. We send photos, a video and encourage the agents to ‘click the forward’ button to let your clients know they’re the first to know about it!
How much easier can we make it for the buyers agents? All they have to do is click forward to their client and we have placed the home in front of a ready, willing, and able buyer who has SPECIFIC interests in a home we are selling.
If you have it priced correctly, and the location isn’t the reason your home won’t sell, it could be the condition.
What Condition is your Home in Compared to others?
If you spend 15 minutes online searching for properties in your area you should have a good understanding of how your Boston condo compares. If there is an open house in your neighborhood you should go and gain information on your competition.
A local broker should be an expert in the neighborhood before he/she lists your home for sale. Before a Real Estate Agent lists a home for sale on the MLS they will understand the competition. You should understand that your home will sell at ‘x’ price in it’s current condition or ‘y’ price if you make a few small improvements to the condition.
There are a number of small investments you can make that will help improve your Boston condo value.
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If your home is in better condition than your neighbors and priced correctly, it’s time to ask:
Did you Hire a Strong Broker to Sell your Condo?
At this point you’re frustrated wondering ‘Why didn’t my home sell?’
Naturally you have to find a reason, so there’s a good chance you place the blame on your broker. Immediately thinking that because your home didn’t sell it must be your brokers fault is not a good approach. You should examine all facts before jumping to any conclusion.
It’s important to remember that statistics show you net more money when you use a broker. Well how come my broker didn’t sell my condo? It’s a logical question, and it could be time to find a new broker.
Choosing the right agent is important when selling your home. Hiring the wrong one might be the reason your home became an expired listing. Chances are you spent a lot of time building equity in your home, it’s a forced savings account for many, it’s time to net the most profit from it. Finding a top local Real Estate Agent is crucial to helping your sale.
You don’t want a “yes man ” to everything you say? No. There are post and pray Boston agents, who will post your condo on the MLS and pray that it sells.
Your goal should be to hire the best Boston agent to sell your home. Sometimes this means interviewing a lot of candidates, and it certainly means interviewing more than one Real Estate Agent. This person is going to be selling one of your most valuable assets, take the time to make sure you get it right.
If you’re home didn’t sell it doesn’t necessarily mean it is your brokers fault, however you should be able to tell where the sale went wrong and it might have been one of the reasons that contributed to it. Your Real Estate Agent should be marketing your home while it’s listed.
Why Didn’t my Home Sell?
Did you receive any feedback on your expired listing? If so, what was it and be as detailed as possible. Often times people will have objections or reasons they chose not to buy your house that you need to validate. If there is a significant pattern or theme in your feedback you need to take that seriously and make changes to your home.
If there is consistent feedback that the kitchen isn’t updated, than it makes sense to evaluate what the cost would be to update the kitchen. For anyone who watches the show Million Dollar Listing, there are a number of things sellers can learn when selling their home. Selling million dollar luxury homes is the same as selling any home in a lot of ways.
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My Home Didn’t Receive Any Offers
So you couldn’t convince anyone your home was worth making an offer on, here’s what you need to do.
Relax, your condo will sell. Do your homework and the reasons your home didn’t sell will become clear.
First, determine what the main reasons are your home didn’t receive any offers. Start by looking at price, location, and condition. Chances are one of these three things is the reason your home didn’t sell. Ask your broker why the home isn’t receiving any offers, and gather feedback from your showings and people who know your home. Find the people who aren’t afraid to hurt your feelings to give you feedback. Society has been conditioned from an early age to ‘not say anything if you don’t have something nice to say.’ You want honest and critical feedback for why your home didn’t sell.
Stay positive! Keeping a positive mindset is important. Once you determine the reasons your home didn’t sell the first time, change what needs to be fixed and you’ll walk away with a successful transaction. You’ll be celebrating like Elaine Benis from Seinfeld
If you’re selling your Boston condo and you have questions about why your condo didn’t sell the firs time we will give you honest answers.
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