Expired Listings...what does that mean? When you sign a listing agreement with a Realtor®, the agreement is for a specific length of time, typically 6 months. When that time is up without being under contract, the listing is "expired". Due to market conditions we’ve been seeing more and more “expireds” lately making it even more critically to know the market and optimize the offering.
Why does a listing expire? We all know the market is slow right now, but homes are still selling. The homes that are selling, and not expiring, are the ones that are most appealing to the buyer with regard to curb appeal, condition of the house, upgrades, location and ultimately price. If you have a house that is less than desirable in any of these first 4 key areas, and are thinking of selling, consider making improvements and know that your price will have to reflect any shortfalls.
Why does a listing not sell my home? There are many reasons why a listing fails to sell a home. The primary reason is that it's not designed to do so. Marketing (not listings) sells homes and the mls listing is only a small piece of a much bigger puzzle. There are many agents that rely solely on the mls to sell their listings, opting to make up for the marketing deficiency by listing a high volume of homes and padding the odds at the expense of a seller's "days on market". When a seller opts for a discount broker this is often the case; agentmarketingdollars saved and passed on to the consumer (through a discount) who thinks that they're saving money when in fact they're sealing their fate, often finding themselves looking for an answer 6 months later.
From a "marketing" perspective here are some other variables you may want to take a serious look at:
External (street) Showing Condition
Priced Above What The Market Will Allow
Internal Showing Condition (dated, cluttered, colors too bold)
