How to Market Your Home When It Goes Back on Market

Dave,

Help! We listed our home about a month ago. We had a decent number of showings, great feedback and we even got an offer not long after listing it. We accepted the offer, but unfortunately after two weeks of being under contract the buyer's loan fell through. Now our home is back on the market, but it seems like everything has done a complete 180. It's been radio silence! We have only had 2 showings since coming back on the market! What could have possibly changed over the last two weeks and what can we do to get things moving again?

Dennis & Gail, Grand Junction

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Dennis & Gail,

Ugh, I am sorry…I can’t tell you how many times I have seen this scenario play out and its almost never an easy answer! When a property first hits the market there is an innate amount of momentum that is generated by just being a new property. The amount of momentum generated, if done properly, can be exponentially increased based on condition, marketing and price etc. It is always our goal to generate as much momentum as possible. Riding the momentum wave after launch is key and the more momentum you generate the longer you can ride the wave. Momentum in real estate is often overlooked and undervalued, but it is a vital goal when putting together a purposeful marketing strategy and turning back to that strategy to kick things back into gear again is where you must turn! Just like in a football game when big “MO” is on one team’s side it seems like they can do no wrong, but nothing kills momentum like a turnover, penalty or some other miscue. A property that falls out of contract is like a turnover in the big game, it can often times kill the momentum and to get it back you must dig deep into your marketing tool box!

It is absolutely one of the most frustrating parts of selling a home. The excitement of getting an acceptable contract to the agony of losing the buyer and having to start over again. It is not only emotionally painful, but the reality of the re-start can be another unexpected blow, especially when it is hard to wrestle the momentum back. This impact can be compounded right now as we are entering the winter months and the holiday season where fewer buyers are roaming the streets and contracts are nearing 50% of the spring/summer time highs. When this situation happens on our team, it is an all hands on deck affair. We know that getting that old engine going again is harder the second time around. Hopefully your agent has a proven marketing strategy that you can fall back on to rekindle the fire of a listing that has lost its spark. 

“When this situation happens on our team, it is an all hands on deck affair. We know that getting that old engine going again is harder the second time around.”

We start by messaging the entire database of real estate agents, especially those who may have previously shown the property, about the fact that we are back on market and often times offer some kind of small incentive or price reduction to give a fresh look and price. We also might switch up photos or re-work the write up so it appears fresh and new. We immediately focus on our electronic footprint (all electronic marketing) to ensure re-distribution happens as soon as possible and this includes making sure to re-run or re-launch social media campaigns to get the word out in as many arenas as possible. Obviously the more marketing you can do to get the word out and making the effort to track down any previous “warm” leads to inform them of the property’s new found available status can significantly help your cause. Make sure to employ every method possible to proactively spread the word.

The most important trait you must exhibit under your current circumstance is patience. Patience in this situation is going to be the key to your sanity and give you the ability to wait out the process as it gets back underway. Focus on moving forward and working with your agent to get the ball rolling again. Realize that it is likely not going to happen overnight. Give it some time and trust your agent and their ability to spread the word! Hang in there, ultimately things will get moving in the right direction, but in a world where we expect everything now you might just need the realization that the new journey may be an opportunity for personal growth! Lastly, remember it only takes one showing (and one offer) to make everything better. Best of luck.

Dave Kimbrough
The Kimbrough Team

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Will no bathtub in your master bathroom hurt resale value?

Dave,

We are in the process of designing our new home and looking over many floor plans and we have noticed that many don’t have a bath tub in the master bathroom. We are now considering only putting a shower in our master bath, as neither of us are “tub” people and rarely, if ever, take baths. Our only hesitation is that this may cause problems down the road with resale and make our home harder to sell when that time comes. Any thoughts or insight would be very much appreciated. 

Dale and Kathy, Grand Junction

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Dale and Kathy,

Great question! I often say that only 20% of the population are “tub” people, but those 20% are REALLY tub people and not having one in the master can be a significant hurdle. It is rare that not having a tub in the master bath is a show stopper, but it does happen on occasion. If you decide to eliminate the shower from the master bath, make sure you have a bath tub in one of the other bathrooms. This is your insurance policy and will likely make the impact much less significant for those weird tub people who have enough time to carve out of their lives to soak and relax! How dare they…

Really the tub is of significant importance to families that have young children. There are years that having a tub is really not an option, as showering toddlers is not overly enjoyable for either the parent or the toddler. Just make sure that you have at least 1 tub in the home to appease the hard core tub lovers. I remember when our kids were small and if we were in a position to only give them showers, our home would have been much less savory than it was!

“Really the tub is of significant importance to families that have young children.”

Here are a couple of parting shots concerning tubs. According to Nerdwallet.com a shower uses only 10-25 gallons of water where a bath uses upwards of 70. Showers are a conservationist’s friend and water conservation is only going to get more important. If you want to turn this around and make your shower a “selling feature” when the time comes, then consider making it LARGE with multiple heads! Spacious showers are in and people love having multiple shower heads. If you want to take it a bit further, turn your shower into a steam shower! Luxury showers are super popular and there are very few buyers who don’t consider them a high end feature and a true luxury. Another option is to take the space that would have been a tub and create a small sitting area! We have a small bathroom, ample but small, and I have long coveted a small sitting area in our bathroom. I would consider that to be a true luxury. To be honest some of the best time my wife and I have to talk is in the morning or evening while in the bathroom! Much of the time our lives are so busy that we don’t really have time to sit and talk where we are not distracted by televisions, cell phones, kids etc. and having a sitting area in the bathroom would be awesome! 

Bottom line, don’t sweat it as long as you leave at least one tub somewhere in the house and consider some of the other bathroom features to really turn your master bath into a selling benefit!! Best of luck!

Dave Kimbrough
The Kimbrough Team 

Have a Question? Ask Dave!

Sell your home this fall our wait until spring?

Dave,

Is it true that waiting until spring to sell your home will get you the best offers? We want to sell our home this fall, but don’t want to get shorted on value. Will we get the best price for our home or should we wait until the spring?

Anthony and Deb, Grand Junction

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Anthony & Deb,

What a great question and one that we hear often, especially this time of year! This is also a difficult question to answer, however, there are good reasons to sell now and also some good reasons to wait and sell in the spring! Keep in mind that there are so many variables to consider that each decision should be made on a case by case basis. Before making your final decision, always contact your real estate professional and meet to decide the best way for you to proceed and maximize your return. I will give you some basics on selling now vs. waiting till spring.   

Selling now has its advantages, particularly considering the lack of competition you will face this time of year. Many sellers are pondering the same question you are and will ultimately decide to wait until spring to sell, thus leaving fewer homes on the market throughout the winter. Showing and selling during the winter months is less appealing to many because of the holiday season. Most families, and mine is one of them, value the holiday season as a time to reconnect and concentrate on friends and family. Trying to show and sell your home during this time can really put a damper on and increase the hassle factor of an already busy time of year! This clearly is a decision that your family will have to make. 

When it comes to competition, less competition is a good thing when selling! If a buyer has fewer options to choose from it significantly increases the chances of your home being chosen…at least that was always my thinking when it came to high school dances (I always hoped for low guy turnout!).

Another advantage to selling this time of year is the unique ability to showcase your house as a home! There is no better time to showcase the warmth and down home feel than winter and “homes” always win over “houses”.   There are several reasons not to sell during the winter and hold out until spring and increasing prices is one of them.

Generally in our market buyers start to emerge from hibernation sometime in mid-March to mid-April and the summer sprint begins. Our team experience is that during the months between April and June we typically generate the most contracts each year, and this is also the time when we will typically see prices really start to rise. You can generally anticipate good demand every spring and thus price your property a bit ahead of winter’s pricing curve. Keep in mind that this increase in demand also brings increased competition. Nothing does more for pushing prices upward than increased demand, thus why we see prices really start to rise throughout summer and level off a bit during winter – basic economic principles. If you are absolutely looking for maximum value, then waiting until spring is probably your safest choice, however, every year we sell many homes during winter that get max value, as they face less competition and show flawlessly. 

I hope this helps, but I can’t over emphasize to consult with your real estate professional and come up with an individualized plan and a plan that is best suited to you and your family. 

Dave Kimbrough
The Kimbrough Team

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How to Make a Winning Offer in a Seller's Market

Dave,

We have been looking to purchase a new home for about 6 months and have written offers on 3 different homes, only to be beat out by other buyers on two of the homes and make an offer to unreasonable sellers who will not back down off their price at all and it has been on the market for almost a year. We are feeling a bit snake bit and just can’t believe we keep missing out. Do you have any secrets you can share with us that will help us get the next home we make an offer on? We know the market has improved, but we seem to keep finding the perfect homes that we can’t buy. We are twice jilted, once stonewalled and needing some help!

Louis and Rhonda, Grand Junction

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Louis and Rhonda,

I will admit, it does sound like you are snake bit, but don’t lose faith. You are right, the market has continued to improve this year and we are all better for it, albeit the change has not been as dramatic as many would like. The market improvement you speak of, coupled with the relative lack of good, clean inventory that is properly priced makes shopping for homes difficult. 

Our current market is pretty much a sellers’ market, meaning it does not favor the buyer or the seller in the lower price ranges, but it does start leaning more and more heavily toward the buyer as the price range goes up. Therefore in the lower end of our market, say under $300,000, you often get good competition for new homes on the market that are priced attractively and in good condition. 

Here is a point to consider when you are shopping for a new home: buyers recognize a good deal. Just like when I was growing up, my mom was always careful with our money and what she spent it on. My Dad worked hard for what money our family did have and they would spend it wisely, but I promise when something was on sale, my Mom knew about it. She knew the market for whatever it was she was shopping for and she would watch and wait. Buyers are still the same today as they were back then…a real buyer, regardless of what they are shopping for, knows a good deal and when they see it they will act on it. Don’t be lulled to sleep thinking you are the only one who will see it. If something is a good deal or just the right fit you have to go after it and don’t be afraid of a little competition if it is the right home.

“It is not always price… we have taken offers for less money because other terms were more important than a few thousand dollars.”

It is not fun being beat out once on a property, nonetheless twice, so next time make sure your agent talks to the listing agent and finds out as much information as he/she can about the seller and the seller’s situation. Craft an offer that is very seller friendly. It is not always price… we have taken offers for less money because other terms were more important than a few thousand dollars. Maybe a long closing, maybe higher earnest money, it may be a preferred lender…the list goes on and on, but sometimes little things matter a bunch. Also, if it is just the right house and just the right fit for your family, don’t be afraid to spend a little more to secure it. Listen, this might sound crazy, but $5,000 over the life of a loan or living in a house for the next 10 years is really not much at all, if it is the right house. It equates to $25 per month, not the end of the world if it really is the RIGHT home. Don’t be afraid to compete and compete to win. My bet is that in 2, 5, or 10 years you won’t regret it. Sometimes we get so caught up on a good deal we lose sight of all the other tangible benefits. I am not saying throw money around and throw caution to the wind, but I am saying don’t be afraid to win a bidding war if it is just the right home. Sometimes, in life, happiness and what you want is worth the fight. 

As for the seller who won’t back down, my guess is it’s not the right house for you at the price they are asking and if that is the case, just move on. You will find the right house, it is waiting on you. When you find it again, you will know it, just don’t be afraid to fight for it!

Dave Kimbrough
The Kimbrough Team

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