Ask Phyllis!

Why Some Homes
Don’t Get Shown

Dear Phyllis,
  We have had our home on the market for two months.  During the first couple of weeks we had about 15 people come by to look, but since then, we only get a couple different ones a week. I keep reading that there is a shortage of homes for sale, so why is our home the exception to the rule?   Jamie


Dear Jamie,
In this Internet age, your first showings are online. Google your address and click on the links. My initial thought is that the photographs used are either non-existent or very poor, which would explain home buyer’s lack of enthusiasm.

When entering a listing in the MLS (Multiple Listing Service), I, and most Realtors®, enter remarks which are auto populated to dozens of real estate web sites. These remarks are essentially ad copy which should entice a buyer into wanting to personally view your home.

How easy is it for your home to be shown? Certainly there can be reasons not to use a lockbox, but each additional layer involved in making appointments decreases showings. If you do not have a lockbox, then you and your Realtor® need to come up with a system. A typical plan would be that you have your home in show condition each day by 10 a.m., and that your agent can call you with two hour notice for a showing appointment. As the home seller, you need to make your home available for showings and once your agent calls and leaves a message, it is your job to have the home ready. Picture this scenario:

• Realtor® Natalie receives a call from clients that they want to see home seller’s home.

• Realtor® Natalie phones listing agent Phyllis to show the home today at 4 p.m.

• Realtor® Phyllis calls the home seller. The seller does not answer the phone.

• Realtor® Natalie and the buyers are waiting. Realtor® Phyllis is waiting.

• You call Realtor® Phyllis back but she is with other clients and can’t pick up your call.

Realtor® Phyllis responds to home seller’s message within one half hour and returns Realtor® Natalie’s call (let’s assume Realtor® Natalie is waiting by the phone and picks up this call).

• Realtor® Natalie now calls her clients (a couple with two schedules) to confirm the appointment.

When a home is difficult to show, it is often not shown.

Other common reasons buyers are not looking is that the price is too high or the location is undesirable (hence the price is too high). You need to have an honest discussion with your real estate agent who should be able to tell you the answer. If your Realtor® cannot provide you with answers, speak with their manager.

  Phyllis Harb