Columbia SC Home Buyers Turned Off By Many Listings
Even with this full-fledged seller's market underway, many Columbia SC home buyers are running from some listings.
Call them turnoff listings, or whatever you want to call them. For one reason or another, Columbia SC home buyers are turned off by these homes. Often times it's due to being overpriced, excessive restrictions on access to even seeing the homes, owners not willing to make repairs, or a variety of other selling mistakes.
Nationally, according to new data from the National Association of Realtors, 44 percent of all new listings take 90 days or more to sell, 22 percent take six to 12 months, and 9 percent take more than a year.
Why Columbia SC Home Buyers Run From Some And Not Others?
More often than not, the root problem is the owners of the property. We see homes being sabotaged by owners all the time.
Sabotaged? Not intentionally, but by "doing things or not doing things that would make the house easier to sell." Demanding an unrealistically high asking price — and refusing to negotiate on lower but qualified offers — is the top turnoff for many would-be Columbia SC home buyers.
Imposing severe restrictions on when and by whom the house can be shown is another. For example, sellers who will only allow showings between 10 a.m. and noon on Saturdays, or who require a 24-hour advance notice before appointments to show during the week, or who won't let anyone in unless they or the listing agent are present, inevitably delay offers and sales. In short, making it nearly impossible for Columbia SC home buyers to even see their home.
Other Big Turnoffs For Columbia SC Home Buyers:
- Poorly cleaned, messy houses with obvious deferred maintenance.
- Sellers who insist on being present — or hover nearby — when shoppers visit so they can point out every feature they improved or like. Better for sellers to be out of the house or out of sight.
- Odors in the house that are either bad — especially from dogs, cats and other pets — or come across as cover-ups, such as scented candles, potpourri plug-ins, etc. When buyers encounter obviously artificial smells they wonder: What are the owners covering up?
Just because homes are selling fast in the Columbia SC area doesn't mean yours will. You've got to think of it as a product you're marketing, not just as your home. Get it in shape to sell. Price it realistically. Be flexible and cooperative on showings and negotiations. Unless your home has features that really put off potential Columbia SC home buyers like costly physical defects, ugly design, bad location or bad schools, your property should sell in today's market.