Why Isn’t Your Queen Creek Home Selling?

We all know the real estate market isn’t optimal right now. Well, at least not if you’re selling your home. That doesn’t mean that you can’t sell your home, or that the chances of it selling are horrible. People are still selling, and there seems to be some stabilization in the market on the horizon, so hope is abundant.

However, if you’ve been trying to sell for months or years now and your home is still sitting there, waiting for the right person to come along and snap it up, you might want to explore one possible reason that it hasn’t sold—it could be you. Yes, that’s crazy, because you want to sell that house, right? But if you’re holding out for a price that is unrealistic in this market, you could be shooting yourself in the foot, proverbially, of course.

Sometimes, people have a very hard time pricing their home to sell because of the “sunk cost fallacy”, according to Ohio State University economist John Kagel. This occurs when someone feels reluctant to sell for less than they paid for, or put into, their home; or they’re hanging on, just waiting for someone to come along with the right price offer.

Now, it’s not necessarily a bad thing to want to get your money out of a home. And there is nothing wrong with waiting for a great offer. But if your home is costing you more to stay in it, than to let it go for less, you need to rethink your strategy. Here are some questions to ask yourself:

 If you sell your home at a lower price and move, will you significantly lower your housing costs? Consider your current cash flow and all the expenses that come with staying in that home. These might include your commute, maintenance and upkeep expenses, and other costs.
 Do you know what a realistic price for your existing home is? Research the housing market in your area thoroughly, and ask your real estate agent to help you learn about the going prices for comparable homes in your area.
 Will you have to pay to get out of your house? If you sell at a lower price, will you have to pay cash to cover your mortgage, or will the lender accept a lower amount?
 If you stay, could you avoid a loss? Every real estate market is individual, and some are recovering quickly, while others are lagging behind, despite national predictions and trends. Talk to your real estate agent about what’s going on in your area.

Unfortunately, there are no guarantees. But answering the questions listed above will help you make your best decision about whether to take a lower price for your home, or hold out for “the right price”.