Why Isn’t Your Home Selling? 12 Common Reasons to Consider

It’s any seller’s nightmare: you put your house on the market hoping for a quick sale — but boy, were you wrong. There hasn’t been a single offer and showing requests are few and far between, leaving you to ask: Why isn’t my house selling?

It’s frustrating, to say the least, but you shouldn’t wait any longer to make some changes, especially if your home’s total days on market is more than a month. Your days on market matter because the longer a house sits compared to other homes in your area, the more buyers — correct or not — will suspect something might be wrong. Don’t wait to make changes!

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Alisha Simpkins, a top-selling Chico, Calif., real estate agent says a home is “going to sell for the most amount of money in the first 30 days.”

A Massachusetts Realtor’s analysis found homes that sold within 10 days went for 101.3% of their asking price. After 120 days, the sale-to-list price ratio dropped to 97.6%. For a $293,000 home, you’re looking at $317,900 compared to $266,000.

Here are 12 of the most common reasons your home isn’t selling and actions you can take to get your sale back on track.

1. The price is too high

Homebuyers pay attention to overpricing. In a HomeLight survey of top real estate agents, 54% of agents have seen or heard about buyers backing out of contracts due to remorse about inflated home values.

“If it’s not condition, it’s always price,” says Simpkins. “And in fact, it’s usually always price.”

How do you know if your home is priced too high? Pricing a home for sale is deceivingly complex. To predict what buyers would pay, you must carefully review recent sales and make dollar adjustments to your property based on competitive differences.

Our Home Value Estimator can be a helpful tool for this task. Enter your address and answer a few basic questions about your home, and we’ll provide a preliminary home valuation in less than two minutes.

However, an online estimate is just the starting point. If you priced the home yourself, get a real estate agent’s opinion on if you were too ambitious.

“Eighty percent of what we do is strategic pricing; 20% is presentation for marketing,” says Regina Madiera-Gorden, a top real estate agent in Tacoma, Washington. “As agents, we have access to more on-demand information that paints a picture of where we should shoot for price.”

Additionally, pay attention to the feedback you get from people at open houses and showings. Were they disappointed at the home’s quality compared to the price?

You can also browse local listings. If your home is priced higher than nearby houses with better features and more upgrades, it’s a telltale signal that price is the issue.

What’s the fix?

In most cases, it’s time for a price drop.

A price cut may sound like the kiss of death for getting the value you’d hoped for. But in reality, price reductions are quite common and sometimes necessary to reel buyers in.

According to data from the National Association of Realtors (NAR), 31% of buyers considered a better price when purchasing a previously owned home.

So, how much should you lower the price?

“You don’t want to be the house that drops the price a thousand dollars every week,” says Simpkins. “I’d say a significant price reduction will get the job done.”

If a listing is getting a lot of showings but no offers, Madiera-Gorden suggests a 1% markdown might entice the right buyers. If there are few showings, a 2% to 3% price reduction may be necessary.

It’s also important to be mindful of online price filters. “Buyers search in $25,000 to $50,000 increments generally,” Madiera-Gorden explains. “So, we try to be cognizant of stepping into the next price bracket — if necessary — to get the property in front of the right buyers.”

2. You missed the market’s peak

Real estate isn’t as volatile as the stock market, but it can quietly shift while you aren’t paying attention.

According to HomeLight’s Top Agent Insights reports for Summer 2023, the rebalancing of the housing market is causing price reductions to become more common as sellers adjust to changed market conditions and increased buyer leverage.

“Homes priced right are selling quickly,” shares Christine Radford, a top real estate agent in Jacksonville, Georgia, a market Radford describes as 60% retirees and pre-retirees.

“Homes overpriced and or not in top condition are sitting longer. We have lots of picky buyers waiting for the right property who are in no rush to buy.”

Recently, Madiera-Gorden worked with sellers who knew of a house down the street with a similar floorplan that sold in two days for $20,000 above the asking price.

Since her client’s house had significant upgrades compared to the neighbors’, they planned to set an even higher list price than what the comp sold for.

However, in a mere four months since the neighbor’s sale, “The velocity of the market had really slowed, so we had to adjust our price,” Madiera-Gorden says.

What’s the fix?

Keep up with what’s happening in the market and examine buyers’ options in real-time. Madiera-Gorden and her daughter and business partner, Madison Lord sometimes take their sellers on an in-person or virtual home tour of similar properties.

Taking that journey with a professional allows sellers to arrive at a better understanding of how their home stacks up against others and how they can improve its appeal to buyers.

Depending on what the competition looks like, a seller may either choose to bring their house up to standard or reduce the price accordingly. For example, if every other comparable listing has a furnace that’s less than 5 years old and yours is upward of 12, maybe it’s time to install a new one.

3. You’ve got a specific problem to address

Even if a showing doesn’t provide you with a buyer, it gives you something important: intel. “Showing feedback is extremely important,” says Simpkins.

According to Simpkins, the questions your agent should be collecting from a showing are, “What’s wrong with this home? What would need to change to make you want to buy this home?”

If you get the same answer from multiple people, you know you have a problem.

What’s the fix?

Once you’ve identified that there’s an issue, you can work to mitigate it. If multiple buyers say your house is too dark, you can add lighting, declutter, or hire someone to clean the windows.

If buyers are having trouble envisioning something specific — where to hang a TV in a living room full of windows, or how to fit a king-sized bed in a smaller master bedroom — you can update your staging to illustrate a solution.

You also may need to address a significant cosmetic flaw or expensive repair. For example, in evaluating one of her listings, Lord noticed a massive splotch on a kitchen counter. She knew buyers would be deterred by having to replace it.

“Our preferred contractors put a new slab of quartz for $2,000,” she says. “Those types of fixes bring you value on the market.”

Of course, some things can’t be changed. What if your homeowners’ association dues are high or your street is clogged with cars going to the stadium every game day?

“Price cures all,” says Simpkins.

4. You’re working with the wrong buyers

Let’s say your home needs some work. The roof is getting old, the construction materials may contain asbestos or aren’t in the best shape, and there’s water damage you can’t afford to fix.

Or maybe you listed your home in a rush out of necessity — you need the extra cash, or a loved one is facing a change in health. But things aren’t moving at the speed you need them to.

Sellers who need to sell urgently may find that an off-market sale works better for them. Many buyers can be sticklers about home conditions. According to a NAR Generational Trends Report on Buyers and Sellers, only 27% of buyers compromised when it came to the condition of the home.

What’s the fix?

Sell your home to a real estate investor, house-buying company, or iBuyer instead. Some direct real estate buyers are more accepting of homes that require a little TLC. Most pay with all cash. Here’s how it usually works: You provide details about your home, the buyer names their cash price, and then decide whether you want to accept or decline the offer.

If this route interests you, consider requesting a cash offer from HomeLight’s Simple Sale platform. Rather than do the work of pricing your home and staging it for the market, you will answer a few questions, such as how much work the home needs and how soon you plan to sell so that we can learn more about your situation.

In as few as 24 hours, we’ll provide you with a full cash offer that can close in as little as 10 days. Going this route provides you with a low-stress selling experience that’s much quicker than most transactions that require financing.

5. Your home is unconventional

Unique properties — large, high-end, or expensive houses — aren’t for everybody, so they usually take a little longer to sell.

For example, Simpkins recalls a client’s home that had two complete living spaces under the same roof. Although it wasn’t divided into two apartments, the home featured two kitchens, living rooms, and primary bedrooms on different floors.

To sell that property, Simpkins changed her marketing strategy. She concentrated on encouraging buyers to picture space for an Airbnb rental or a suite for live-in relatives.

What’s the fix?

First of all, patience. If your home is unconventional, you’ll probably have to wait for the perfect buyer.

Second, think about what appealed to you when you bought the home. There’s gotta be other buyers out there who will feel the same way.

Ensure your marketing and advertising strategy casts the distinctive features positively, so the property resonates with buyers who would appreciate its charms.

Finally, get that information in front of the right people. Besides online real estate sites, consider posting on Facebook groups, specialty websites, mailing lists, local apps such as Nextdoor, or even print publications that target your buyers.

6. Your staging is terrible — or non-existent

Showings allow buyers to get a feel for your home and allow them to envision the space as their own.

That’s hard to do if they’re tripping over children’s toys in the dining room or overwhelmed by travel tchotchkes bulging out of built-in bookshelves.

Unstaged homes can seem cluttered, cramped, dark, and small.

“Typically, a staged home sells for more money, and it does sell in a shorter amount of time,” says Simpkins.

Our research confirms the value of staging; well-staged homes sold for 18% more nationally than those with poor staging.

“Staging, new paint, and decluttering offer more than an increase in price,” adds survey participant Stacy Stanley, a top real estate agent in Grass Valley, California.

“It determines how desirable the home is to the market, how many offers it gets, and how fast it sells.”

What’s the fix?

Get a jump on your move. Declutter and pack up family photos and other treasures and place them in storage. Now that you can see the floors, walls, shelves, and other spaces, you can determine what to paint or repair.

Since you’re leaving, it’s understandable that you don’t want to fix things you’ve ignored for years. But, little upgrades often bring a considerable return on investment, as can hiring a professional stager.

“The right staging almost always doubles or triples your investment,” says Lord.