Why Isn’t My House Selling?
May 2, 2008
Interested in knowing why your house is not selling? If you are feeling up against the wall, there's hope. 
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.
- 1 photo = 70 DOM
- 6 photos = 40 DOM
- 16-19 photos = 36 DOM
- 20 photos max - 32 DOM
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.)
- 1 Photo = 91.2% of Original Price
- 6 or more = 95% of Original Price
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?
- Ask the listing agent to inform you when photos will be taken.
- Prepare your house before the photos are shot.
- Insist the maximum number of photos allowed be uploaded to mls.
- Review photos after they are uploaded to the multiple listing service.
- 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:
- Generating more interest
- Attracting more viewers/buyers
- Receiving higher offers
- Negotiating a higher selling price
- Enjoying a faster sale of your home.
This all translates into less stress and a greater peace of mind.
MLS Moments - North Atlanta Listing Data
April 21, 2008
The mls update for March has not been published by FMLS (First Multiple Listing Service) yet. Here's my simple list of market activity for the area of North Atlanta we've been tracking for a couple of years.
- Active FMLS Listings | North Atlanta Houses for Sale - 7966 UP 203
- FMLS Listings Under Contract | Pending Closing - 878 UP 26
- Sold | FMLS Listings Reported as Closed through April 21 - 1516 UP 158
- Median Sold Price - $368,410 DOWN $1,028
- Average Days on Market - 93 UP 1
The statistic of significance is that inventory - the number of houses on the market - continues to be higher than the the demand - the number of houses sold - by a small margin.
Get real time market trends here.
MLS Moments: Atlanta Real Estate Market Review
March 8, 2008
I've just finished reviewing the mls listings activity through February. As a reminder (disclaimer), this is market information that I have compiled, not the Atlanta multiple listing services. The geographic focus is the North Atlanta suburbs. (See the zip codes included.)
The number of closed sales may continue to adjust as reports are filed with the local mls office.
The reported year-to-date numbers through February 2008:
- 7230 active mls listings UP
- 776 are "under contract" pending closing UP
- 664 sold and closed UP
- $380,929 average sales price DOWN
- 95 average days on market. UNCHANGED
You can see the number of single-family houses on the market are up from last week's report. So are the number of properties closed. However, the increase in new listings (168) continues to out pace the increase (90) in mls listings reported as closed.
The number of homes for sale (inventory), in contrast to the number of homes closed, enables us to calculate the absorption rate for our market area. This is simply a numeric way to report supply and demand trends.
It's important to note the absorption rate can be quite different between price ranges and zip codes. Earlier this week we gave a good example of what our client wants to buy, and how few matching homes are available for sale.
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