Not being able to sell your property can be hard, especially when you don’t know what you’re doing wrong. The real estate market is busy no matter where you look, though there are factors that can count for or against you when selling your home. Here are 4 possible reasons that could explain why your home isn’t selling.

A Bad First Impression

One of the most common reasons why a home isn’t selling is because of a bad first impression. This can take many forms.

Maybe the pictures you put up on the website show the property in a state of disrepair, so people skip it in favor of something that doesn’t look like a fixer-upper. Or they drive past the property and see an unkempt yard, debris piled up on the side and a damaged exterior. Now they have the same bad first impression and decide to go look at the open house down the street.

The Wrong Price Tag

One method of guaranteeing your home won’t sell is over-pricing it. Neighborhoods have price ranges based on demand for the area and the value of the property. People can estimate the value of a home by determining the going rate per square foot and then multiplying that rate by the number of square feet in the home.

They’ll pay more than this baseline value for properties that are of walking distance to good schools, excellent views or unbeatable amenities. However, if your home is listed for far above the expected price tag for the house, most home buyers will move on to more reasonable priced houses because they don’t want to overpay or try to haggle you down to a reasonable rate.

Overvaluing your property is a mistake you can avoid by knowing the right price before you list the home. All you have to do is check a site like Housing Predictor to compare your ask price with your market and adjust it based on your particular area.

The Wrong Agent

A good real estate agent will be able to move your home quickly and often get a bidding war started for your home, resulting in a better price. Conversely, if you choose an agent who isn’t motivated, doesn’t know what they’re doing or does real estate on the side, your home could sit for months before it sells.

Note that trying to sell the property yourself isn’t always the best solution. When you try to sell a home yourself, buyers wonder what is wrong with it and scrutinize the property more thoroughly. And don’t think that the lack of a real estate commission will pay off; buyers will assume they can offer less for the house because you don’t have to pay a real estate agent.

The solution is finding a real estate agent, similar to these Toronto realtors, who are able to move properties while selling them at a reasonable rate. Or just getting a real estate agent who knows what they’re doing and has a track record for results.

Homebuyers will skip a property that looks like a fixer-upper or that they can’t imagine living in. If it is too expensive, they’ll go for something else. And a real estate agent who is going slowly is literally costing you opportunities to sell your home.