Property Lines

Conversations about Atlanta Real Estate

Why Isn’t My House Selling?

05/02/08 | Kathy Drewien | Category: Sellers, Technology & Real Estate

Interested in knowing why your house is not selling? If you are feeling up against the wall, there's hope. why-isnt-my-house-selling

Yes, the real estate market is slow. Yes, the economy is in a DHED. And yet, houses are selling and people are moving.

In this series, we are going to look at situations that give you - the Atlanta seller - a better idea of what it takes to sell your home in today's market.

How many photos of your home are listed in the multiple listing service?

Do you know what the photos look like?

RISMedia has published a report relating the number of photos a multiple listing posts to the number of Days on Market (DOM). The findings show that mls listings with more photos sold faster.

This is the shake down on the photos to Days on Market (average) analysis.

And listings with fewer photos sold for less. The Closed NET Price as a percentage of the Original Price also showed a direct correlation. (These findings are based on 2006 numbers and are again estimates.)

According to these findings, a $600,000 home, sporting only one photo, could sell for as much as 3.8% LESS or a loss of over $22,000, just because there was only one photo accompanying the listing.

More amazing is the fact that only 12% of agents posted the allowed maximum photos. (NOTE: Our multiple listing service allows 12 photos plus a photo tour.)

What can you do to better position your house for sale?

  1. Ask the listing agent to inform you when photos will be taken.
  2. Prepare your house before the photos are shot.
  3. Insist the maximum number of photos allowed be uploaded to mls.
  4. Review photos after they are uploaded to the multiple listing service.
  5. Take photos yourself, and send digital images to your listing agent.

The internet is the most powerful tool you can use when selling your home.

Well crafted photos do sell real estate. Pay attention to the online images of your house. You stand to gain by:

This all translates into less stress and a greater peace of mind.

Photo by Spoon 

About the Author: Straight Talking Atlanta Real Estate Agent | Love the Raw Sound of R.L. Burnside, Junior Kimbrough, and other Blues Artists | '92 Jeep Wrangler Sahara Feeds My Soul

Read Comments

  1. Posted by Bob SchenkenbergerNo Gravatar on 05.02.08 5:28 pm

    Photos absolutely will put more eyeballs on the house. More eyes mean more visits and showings which lead to faster sale, and more money.

  2. Posted by Irina NetchaevNo Gravatar on 05.02.08 7:32 pm

    Wow Kathy! What a great article with great research. It’s amazing how many agents are not utilizing the power of the internet and are putting up only one or two photos on line. Some agents in our area are listing properties in the MLS with no photos. Shame on them!
    Excellent advice for the Atlanta home sellers!

  3. Posted by Kathy DrewienNo Gravatar on 05.03.08 10:12 am

    @Bob “More eyeballs on the house” is right! And, better if the photos don’t make those eyeballs blink twice trying to see beyond the clutter - or through the windshield of the agent’s car.

    @Irina For years, our MLS offered agents the choice of providing photos themselves, or having the mls photographer do a drive by shooting at no charge. Not only is the photo uploaded days after listing the property, it often is not even the correct property. Now, there is a charge for that service. My guess is the agents depending on that service will now have 0 photos instead of just 1.

    We all have seen examples of bad mls photos; sellers do not have that same opportunity. They do now.

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