If your listing isn't selling and you're not sure that a price reduction is the best solution, what else can you look at? Well, it might be really simple. Have you checked access lately? Lockbox still there? Key still in it? Key still work in the lock (sticky locks kill showings)?

Is the seller declining or restricting showings? Have you previewed your listing lately? Does it still show well and smell good? How's your MLS description? Is it dull ("3 bedroom/2 bath ranch in Woodbridge") or jazzy ("Mid-Century tri-level with modern flair!")? Do you over-promise and under-deliver? Are the photos in season? Are there photos? Are the driving directions correct, if the property isn't a slam-dunk to find?

Here's a biggie; is there a buyer for this house? Are other similar homes selling? If so, there's something wrong with yours. If not, there may simply not be a buyer on the planet at this time and you can't manufacture one. Not all homes are sellable, contrary to popular opinion.

Take a really close look at what IS selling in the neighborhood or market area. Can you identify any common denominators among the selling listings versus the non-selling ones? Maybe all the sales are of four-bedroom homes and your listing has three. Maybe it's the two-story models that are selling and yours is a ranch. You can't fix that, of course, but it might help you understand (and explain to your seller).

But what if the problem isn't simple, but is fixable? For example, what if the home has structural damage … or a strong smoke or cat urine smell? What if the kitchen was poorly renovated… in the 70’s? What if it’s a one-bath home in a market that expects at least two? These are fixable problems, and the fact of the matter is that fixing them will almost always be far less expensive for your seller than an effective price reduction. It’s nearly impossible to price a structurally-challenged home low enough to interest a retail buyer, or even most investors. However, repairing a structural problem may not be nearly as costly as everything thinks it will be. Get a bid. Get two bids.

An objectionable smell is another item that is far better corrected than priced for. Buyers buy on emotion, and if a home smells bad, the only emotion inspired will be a negative one. You probably can’t price low enough to encourage a buyer to fall in love with a smelly house. An otherwise wonderful one-bath home will almost certainly be overlooked by buyers and agents if the price-range offers plentiful two-bath homes. Adding a second bath, if at all possible, can dramatically increase the likelihood of sale, far above the actual “value” of that bath. What if your seller doesn’t have the money, desire or time to make the needed corrections or repairs?

Well, then you must certainly price for the deficiency (or decline the listing) but at least you tried. It is ultimately your seller’s decision whether or not to maximize the marketability of his home… but it is ultimately your decision whether or not to take a listing.

Next time, I’ll talk about strategies for dealing with both fixable and non-fixable (“fatal”) flaws.

Published: December 14, 2009

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Jennifer Allan-Hagedorn was a top producing real estate broker in Denver, Colorado before writing her first book in 2007. Since then, she has written several more books about the business of selling real estate including her flagship book: Sell with Soul: Creating an Extraordinary Career in Real Estate without Losing Your Friends, Your Principles or Your Self-Respect, the sequel, If You're Not Having Fun Selling Real Estate, You're Not Doing it Right and her latest, to be released in Spring 2011, Prospect with Soul for Real Estate Agents. Jennifer believes that the secret of success for real estate agents is not in aggressive marketing techniques or hard-core sales pitches, but rather in being competent in one's craft. Competence begets Confidence. And in today's world of increasingly suspicious and ad-weary consumers, having an air of self-assurance and enthusiasm will be far more effective than a slick sales campaign. Jennifer writes and speaks with this philosophy in mind. She preaches that salespeople should follow the Golden Rule in their day-to-day practice of business - treating clients and prospects respectfully, as the salesperson him or herself would like to be treated. Being competent, reliable and fair, and motivated by a true desire to earn a paycheck, not just show up at closing with hand outstretched. She is a regular contributor to several real estate newsletters and magazines, a member of the RE/MAX Hall of Fame and one of the industry's most popular bloggers. You can learn more about Jennifer's "soulful" philosophies at www.SellWithSoul.com. Subscribe Below to Enroll in the Daily Seduction Newsletter Mini-Clinic - Tips and Strategies to Generate Business and Referrals From Your Sphere of Influence! Your Full Name Your Email Address