We keep hearing that the housing market is taking a beating during this pandemic. However, if you’re waiting for your home to sell, it’s a relief to know that things are generally going really well. Believe it or not, some people wait over a year for that bright red “Sold Out” sign on their lawn.
I know the feeling. We had to sell our place this year – during all the chaos of the pandemic, no less. We weren’t even allowed to hold an open house, which is one of the most important ways a listing can attract the right buyer. The few months we waited for an offer to come were very stressful. We’ve often wondered if there’s a way to entice more buyers besides lowering the listing price. (Which is an option, but try to make it a last resort.)
All the usual advice for attracting buyers — improving curb appeal, staging the house, repainting the living room lime green — are things most sellers know before listing their home. But what should you do if no offer comes even after a year? Here are five things you can do to improve your chances of selling your home, even if it’s been a long time since you first listed it.
Increase Sales Commission
You can enhance the flavor of both your listing agent and buyer’s agent by increasing the commissions they receive. This should help agents who might otherwise consider your listing a bit out of date to get potential buyers in the door. If you plan to go this route, make sure the raise is high enough to get the agent’s attention. A 1% increase shared by both you and the buyer’s agent probably isn’t enough to get anyone’s attention. However, a 1.5% to 2% increase (to be shared) can make a big difference in the traffic coming through your front door. They are paid to sell, to have some incentive to put in the work.
When we were looking to buy a home, this was a home that our agent kept on our radar. It felt a bit strange that she used to say such good things about the place every time we visited. I later came to know that the agent was paying 4% commission to the buyer’s agent. This is compared to the neighborhood standard of 2.5%. No wonder the buyer’s agent was so excited about us owning the place!
