Something needs to be done with the living room lay out. I might rather see the sofa turned to make a "hall" behind it for the door. Coffee table too large too. But I think you will get some really good ideas from the talented people on this forum.

Is the kitchen back splash tile or wallpaper. It's awfully dark.

back splash tile in the kitchen. I like the "hall" idea.

I also like to add that "we don't feel" we are overpriced but do have a contingency on a new home and are anxious to move

Zillow isn't always that accurate, but something to consider --

Zillow predicts 63125 home values
will fall 0.1% next year, compared to a 0.3% rise for Mehlville as a
whole. Among 63125 homes, this home is 65.4% more expensive than the
midpoint (median) home, and is priced 15.2% more per square foot.

Again - take Zillow into consideration - but it says the grade schools aren't so good. So - perhaps market to those without kids?

What is your competition in the market? Have you seen homes in your price range and area sell faster?

Getting lots of showings is good. Hard to say what is holding them back from making an offer. Do you have a basement and how does it look/smell? Are you on a busy street? Sketchy neighbors?

A couple that are comparable have sold faster. Not tons of competition right now, Dead end street, full basement that has no smell and is dry and looks good. A couple that have sold do have finished basements and were only 10,000 more. We are debating on dropping the price again. The house across the street had a finished walkout basement and sold in a month for 192,000 and was smaller upstairs and a lot smaller yard.

Repeatedly coming in "second place" usually means the home is not quite priced correctly for what is being offered.

I would have your agent research the MLS and find out what has sold or gone Pending during the same time your home has been on the market. Just do the search for the same criteria that your home has. Take a good look at these homes, and ask yourself why the buyers chose these homes over your homes. After all, these buyers probably viewed your home too. Your agent should be able to identify trends that would indicate why the buyers opted for these other homes over yours.

Your biggest problem is the time of year. People do not generally go house hunting during the winter months.

Your house is very nice. You will get a buyer, but the chances are just not right now.

We rented a Zippy container, and loaded about a third of our furniture into it. Removed our overstuffed chair, and just kept the couch, for instance. Decluttered the closets by storing our summer clothes, etc. Net result was the house looked much larger. Then got a professional photographer to take wonderful pictures (with ALL the lights on!). And we had a 30 minute routine for showing the house--staging the DR table, turning on lights, putting out special clean towels, etc. It worked. I can't address the pricing point, but I would suggest improving your staging by storing some of your furniture offsite (LR feels way too small--remove the 3-cushion sofa and coffee table; get rid of overstuffed chair by fireplace along with TV trays), decluttering the kitchen countertop, removing the items on top of the kitchen cabinets, pulling the drapes back, turning the lights on, decluttering the mantel, put out fresh towels; store the bath mat under the sink; can Alex live without the chest on the right in the photos, banner, and name on wall? Yes, it'a a pain for actual living, but a small price to pay to move on. Good luck!

Declutter more. You need to make your place look more like a resort hotel, in that there is nothing personal around. No Alex signs, no family photos, nothing of the sort.

Your kitchen counter should have no more than 2 items on it, and take the dirty dishtowel off the stove. More after my RE agent leaves.

Christopher, he is getting a fair amount of showings. Apparently there are buyers currently in his market.

4 showings in last 5 days and averaging at least 1 a week since it was listed. Houses are selling around us, just not ours. We are def going to declutter alot this week. It would need packed up when we sell anyway and we do have a storage unit. We should have done this from the beginning.

While winter is here and it's cold in St. Louis houses are definitely selling, especially in the under 200k range. I am not overly familiar with your exact area or schools it has to be price if there's nothing wrong with the house. Some extra decluttering along with updated pictures should do it.

It looks pretty good but I agree with the decluttering and new photos advice. And honestly the laundry area looks a bit grim. Take the laundry out of the machine before you take a picture, and remove the basket and detergent from the top. Is there a dryer? From the picture it just looks like a washer. If there's a dryer get that in the pic too, and try to spruce up the area a bit with a throw rug or something so it looks nicer.

You have some decluttering to do, but you also have other issues that can't easily be fixed. Trulia says the schools are "below average." There is some crime. You are between two freeways. The house is older, meaning older systems, less insulation. You need to oversome these negatives, and find some positives.

Check your solds, not the offers. Have the realtor pull all solds for the last six months, within a mile or two. Screen that data for lot size, number of bedrooms and baths, number of garage bays, and total heated square footage. You want to derive statistics such as the average square foot price for this group, and go from there. Remember a thing is worth what someone will pay for it, not a penny more. Asking prices don't matter much, offers don't matter much-- the critical issue is selling price.

See if you can open up your market-- if the schools are not too hot, then look at selling to investors who intend to rent it out. Have the realtor do a cash flow analysis. If the area has good hospitals and transportation, it might appeal to older people (although the laundry in the basement is a negative for that market). Find your market and you will find your buyer.

Have your realtor re-write the listing description. Right now the unwritten message is, "help me, I'm desperate to sell, going cheap." You're giving the market the impression that it can wait, until you capitulate on price. Maybe it will go to foreclosure... This is not a good message, obviously.

In the end, it's all about location, condition, and price. If properties like yours are selling, and yours is not, then condition and price are the factors. If similar condition homes are selling, but yours is not, it's price. If you don't want to move on the price, then consider renting it out, seller finance, or just drop the listing and try again later. Whatever you do, don't let the house sit on the market getting stale.

This is a great little house on a nice lot. It's in wonderful shape. It just needs 'staging'.

We are seeing Your Home, cleaned up as it would be before you have guests. It looks very comfortable, but it doesn't look *fresh and new*.

You want to show A Model Home, not as anyone would actually LIVE in the house, but an idealized version. That means making the rooms look more spacious by just a 'suggestion' of furniture -- small scale furniture. In a dream home there are no garbage cans in the kitchen or *anywhere* on the property. There is some 'art' on the walls. The buyer wants to think, "Oh, here is where I will sit and read," and, "Look at my beautiful, sleek kitchen counters," and "Here's the tiled shower I will enjoy." (Don't draw the shower curtain; looks like you're hiding something awful.)

Don't show photos of the unfinished basement. (Leave enough shelving for a few laundry items and remove the rest.)

Don't show us your backyard neighbor's house.

Actually, Alex's bedroom is nicely minimal. I don't mind the name on the wall. Model homes often 'identify' a Kid's Room in this way. (Maybe the schools aren't tops, but evidently *this kid* has had success.)

Actually the schools are on an upswing, voters passed a funding referendum and its vastly improving. the house is on a dead end street so minimal traffic and it has a large yard for the area. We just got feedback about the house being too cut up for them. Cant really do anything about that. We did add the kitchen table and take out a desk by the sliding door as that is the way it was when we bought it and we tend to eat there more

I agree with removing the large dark furniture in the living room. Also remove everything from your kitchen counters - paper towel holder, cooking oils - everything. Remove the small table next to the sliding glass door & put the garbage cans in the garage. Take everything off the bathroom counters - even hand soap. Get white or clear shower curtains - your shower curtains make people say "like" or "dislike". If the basketball hoop does not go with the house put it in storage. I assume all the stuff on the patio is put away now, but make sure your garage doesn't look like a storage unit. Re: the basement - I agree that you should minimize the "stuff" on the shelves to a bare minimum & put that stuff in storage containers. Don't have any laundry in the washing machine - that is too personal.

I you can possibly do it I agree with paining in current colors.

I just went through this last year - it is ridiculous I know but it is what is needed!

I looked at your pics again - remove everything from the mantle except the candle sticks, remove everything from the hearth & put the tv tables in storage.

You keep saying that the floor plan is chopped up and that you can not do anything about that. But there is... your price needs to be in line with other comparable homes that are chopped up. Again, have your agent pull every listing that has sold or gone Pending since your home has been on the market. It will tell you loads of useful information.

I can tell you from my experience with today's buyers that only about 10% of them do not mind a chopped up floor plan. Especially in a newer home. Almost everyone wants that open, great room feeling with the kitchen open to the Great Room.

Find an Interior Designer to stage the home for you!

Overall, your house looks nice. It's clean, and not too much clutter. The impression I got is of a house that is a little dark, especially that laundry room area! You might want to remove some of the clutter around the fireplace, remove one of the sofas, add some interest to the coffee table, candles, fresh flowers..is there a Pier One close by? They have really cute things at good prices.

If this was my house, I'd paint the bathrooms in a light neutral, the vanities white, get some white or beige towels, shower cutain, fancy soaps, and make it look more spa like, since bathrooms sell. You don't have to spend much, Ross, Target, Wal Mart will have what you need. The idea is to get broad appeal, your bathrooms look a little taste specific. Also, please remove that and any other bathroom rugs! Your kitchen looks dark, but aside from painting the cabinets in a lighter color, there is not much you can do. Some of the rooms had dark paint that did nothing, consider painting in a lighter color to lighten things up. You can't go wrong with greige, cream, beige or light grey walls.

This time of year is not good, if you can, take the house off the market for a few weeks, make some changes, bring it back on in early March. That way, the listing doesn't get stale, and you don't find yourself dropping the price more and more. Your house will sell if it's priced right, no doubt about that. Best of luck.

Your house pictures are blurry and dark. They need to be retaken after you declutter and remove a few of the photos. Drop the pics of the water heater and washer, also the one of the storage shelves in the basement or is that the garage. Those are not needed and don't look good. The backslash doesn't go with the cabinets in the kitchen. The color and style don't match. Agree with painting walls and removing the large sofa in the living room. Too many large items in a small space. The glaring item that got me right away was the poor rating of the elementary school. The schools may well be on the rise. They aren't now and that is what people are reading. I would pass on your home because of it. You may want to consider lowering your price.

I thought only I was seeing blurry pictures, but now someone else has posted the same. Crop ceilings out of photos.

You have a pretty exterior and nice yard. I love the big window over the kitchen sink. Your baths look modernized. You have three decent bedrooms.

IS there hardwood under the carpeting? Sounds likely in a 1941 home. (Shiny floors would help conquer the 'chopped up' complaints.) Can you store the heavy brown sofas -- friend's basement?

TELL buyers about the passed school referendum. (Is your likely buyer starting a family? Schools will be improved by the time some 'littles' are ready to attend -- and the value of this house will increase.)

Your pictures are pixelated meaning they put up pictures that were too small for the website. Get proper sized pictures that are not blurry. Every single one is blurry. Blurry pictures show you don't care.

Picture 1 of the house good

Picture 2: Get rid of the table on the right and take the bright red pillow off the sofa. Have one pillow in the center "standing up" on the sofa against the window. Not three. Turn on lights

3: Take everything off of top of cabinets, off of window sill and off of countertop. Turn on lights

4: The only thing that should be on the countertop should be a bowl of fruit and/or flowers in a vase.

5: see above, plus get rid of the garbage can and the dish towel on the stove. In everyone's fantasy, no one does dishes or has garbage.

6: Get rid of coffee table and put green sofa at a right angle to sofa on window wall facing tv. See above about pillows.

7: see above

8: Open the blinds. Turn on lights.

9: Take everything except candlesticks off mantle. Get rid of brown chair. Get rid of tray tables. Get rid of table next to tray tables. Get rid of the black viney thing to left of mantle. Light the candle sticks.

10: Get rid of rug under table. Open drapes. Turn on lights. Find a better angle and make sure the other stuff isn't in picture.

11: Find better looking stools or get rid of them. Open drape all the way. Get rid of floor mat in doorway.

12: Turn lights on.

13: Open shower curtain and make sure the only thing in or on the bathtub is a clean and shiny tub and faucets. Remove rug on floor.

14: Turn light on. Remove whatever is on floor besides dresser. Take whatever is on dresser off of dresser.

15: Picture will be fine once it's not blurry.

16: Open blinds. Turn on light. Take down Alex name and anything else that is personal including Cardinal banner. What if you get a person who's a fan of another team and hates the Cardinals? (Yes I know it's in St. Louis, but there are transplants.)

17: Get rid of the garbage cans. Make the backyard look attractive with the furniture arranged in a nice grouping.

18: Clean up under porch.

19: Eliminate this picture. Why would you need it?

20: Eliminate this picture. You do not need to show the basement and a washing machine!

21: Eliminate this picture. Why are you showing the neighbors yard?

Hope this helps

Wow, I thought only I was seeing blurry photos on my monitor.

If an agent posted those on a listing, that is appalling.

Eliminate as much of the little stuff as possible. I would remove the stools at the kitchen pass through bar and the little black table beside the stools. Put more stuff away; to create the feeling of spaciousness it needs to look a little bare. Put away the bathroom rug and be sure the floor is pristine. I would buy special bedspreads or quilts for the beds that will give a really crisp look to the rooms. After showing the house, fold up those bedspreads and put them away till the next showing. Same with fresh, unused towels in the bathrooms. The school rating would be a real big no no to me, so be sure your realtor talks up the improvements in the schools. Be sure to use a professional photographer who has experience with multiple listing jobs. Omit pictures of the basement.

I agree on omitting the pictures of the basement. You shouldn't call attention to the fact that your washing machine is in the basement.

The living room in the very first picture - just inside the front door - looks really tiny. Maybe it's the angle of the picture. It looks as though there is NO room there. What is that in the lower right corner of the picture?

Remove the brown chair beside the fireplace.

Why are there rugs on top of the carpet? Roll them up and put them in storage.

If you have lots of showings, that says to me that your realtor is doing his/her job, there are lots of prospective buyers out there, and the price may not be too far out of line. When the house is shown, however, something is turning your viewers off. What is it? Do you have pet smells? Damp basement smells? Smoker smells? Unlevel floors? Cracked ceilings? A neighborhood noise issue?

OK, we've helped with the photos, but...the issue hasn't been getting people in to see the house. The issue is No Offers. Maybe the photos have drawn 'bottom feeders'? Maybe the listing realtor is the problem? (We know she messed up on the photos.) Is she experienced? Is she -- or is her office -- bringing buyers to look at the house?

Good questions, chisue.

Yes good questions chisue.

Most listings are not sold to the listing agents' clients. As soon as the listing is entered into the MLS, the listing agent's odds of being the one that brings the buyer goes way down... simple statistics. If there are a thousand agents in the MLS, then the chances are great that someone else besides the listing agent will be in contact with the eventual buyer.

But, Chiuse is on to something here, and is why I have asked the OP twice, (with no reply) if his agent has researched every property that has gone under contract or is Pending during the time that their home has been on the market. The agent should run a search for solds and pendings with the OP's home's criteria and take a very close look at those homes for common trends. The buyers that bought these properties probably looked at the OP's home too. Looking closely at these solds and pendings should clue the OP as to why they chose these properties over theirs.

she is getting us the solds and comparables. We are decluttering and changing some things around. Agent is then going to take new pics. Lots of great advice and we very much appreciate all of it! Sorry I haven't responded between working on the house and actual working I've been quite busy :)

One thing that I do know is most of the solds in the area are about the same size or smaller house but have some of the basement finished and they are selling for about $5000 to $10,000 more, it's looking like a price drop might be in order. We do have a contingency on another house and really don't want to lose it, so dropping seems logical at this point, along with the other suggestions. We are currently engaged and we both have kids and live in separate houses which are about 30 minutes apart. I have to live in the city because of my job and we don't fit in mine. It's wearing on us and feel the time together we are losing isn't worth making money on her house.

Tommy, if the same realtor took the pictures before, you might benefit from get a professional real estate photographer with wide angle lenses and filters. This realtor messed up big time with the pictures, and pictures of other listings on the realty website are better. She should have already given you the solds and comparables before you decided on your listing price. I echo the concern that your realtor isn't delivering the service your listing requires. You have a short window left before your property becomes stale; you need accurate information, a professional analysis of the situation, and a realistic approach of what the house is worth rather than what you need to get out of it. We don't mean to sound harsh, but we're trying to help you get back on track quickly. Good luck, and I hope it comes together for you soon.

Tommy, if you have a moment, you might look at cpartist's recent posting. She also had a spirited discussion about what to do for her pictures and listing. This is a link to her second posting, after she took all the input and then had professional photos taken. https://www.houzz.com/discussions/my-condo-listing-dsvw-vd~3610929 And here you can read the original posting and suggestions from GWers: http://ths.gardenweb.com/discussions/3579558/getting-ready-to-sell-our-condo?n=64. I really notice the difference in the photos--it takes the photos from great to fabulous.

Have her pull Under Contract listings too. Those buyers probably viewed your home too. If the comps are only $5000 - $10,000 more than yours and have finished basements, then yes, IMO, you need to re position yourself in the marketplace.

Aww shucks golfergirl. My second set of photos were taken with a wide angle lens. (I took both sets of photos, but for my work, I do photography so have some experience doing so.)

I concur that most RE agents have no clue how to take a decent photo and it would be worth having someone take the photos for you unless you're a photographer.

Be sure they use an SLR camera, aperture priority, HDR, a wide angle lens 10-20mm is best, turn on all lights, open all drapes and curtains and use a tripod. My shots were all shot at 200 ISO and then all the photos were corrected for color and lens distortion in terms of leaning in photoshop.

I think more importantly the only thing that was added were some fresh flowers to give a bit of color. Not fake flowers, but real ones. Our kitchen counter is almost bare as are most of our table tops. There are no personal photos, no names, etc. And if you open up any of our closets, the linens are folded with square corners, the junk has been removed, and the shelves are as empty as I could make them. In my WIC my clothes are lined up neatly; shirts together, pants together, jackets together, etc.

If you'd like, I can take a few quick photos to show you how my closets look to give you an idea of how they should look.

I even lined up my spices inside my kitchen cabinet! Nothing, and I mean nothing is out of place.

Cpartist, that's really good, detailed info anyone selling a house should take note of. I decided against one realtor because he thought his photos on his Iphone were great. I didn't share his opinion....

Tommy

The president of the 5 county realtors group here loves to toss me a listing and have me tell him where it will come in --- I haven't missed by more than a $1000 in 7 years. Now I do NOT look at flowers on a table or rugs on the floor - I only look at things that will be there when I take possession.

Step 1 Get the comps for anything that has sold within 1/2 -1 mile of you in the past 6 months. Run the numbers. Here is what we use here

* $25 per sq ft difference

* $1500 for 1/2 bath

*$3000 for full bath

* $4000 per garage slot

* $3000 for a fireplace or wood stove

* $1000 for outbuilding like a shed

* $5000 for full basement vs slab

* $4000 for each additional acre in lot size

* $1500 fenced yard

That's it - -nothing more for new carpet or paint or appliances. Finished basements get ZERO on appraisals -- and appraisals set the price limit that a buyer can go. They are not - under National Appraisal Guidelines - living space unless they have direct exterior egress. Do NOT count a basement because it is finished.

Take the things that sold and run the numbers. Might see as mcuha s a 25 swing on similar houses due to condition --- vinyl floors vs wood and ceramic tile in bath vs plastic shower walls. If your price is more than the median (50% more, 50% less) than it is nothing that price won't fix .

As to the house itself

(1) Curb appeal -- good.

(2) Interior...... makes me take a deep breath as a potential buyer (we bought a new house as the dead bottom of the market in 2012).

* Living room is BORING over near the TV --- add some very nice prints or pictures but lose the decal near the door (makes me think...aw geez....how do I get that off?).

* The grey bedrooms make me tired with the idea of having to do 3 coats of primer to bury the depressing grey and go to something lighter. Ditto the gold bath (along with more of the wild tile)and dark brownish bath.

* Kitchen cabinets (and that pass through) are pure 1970s-ish. The backsplash looks "70s" brown with a '60s' pattern. I see hours of refinishing cabinets and ..worse ... hours with a grout knife, 5-in-1 tool and hammer getting that backsplash off. And all of it adding about to about $4000 -5000 of handyman work.

* Kitchen appliances - obviously an attempt to 'update' with the current fad. Stainless does not work in there with he oak-colored wood. I won't pay more because they are there - I would put in the contract that they are outta there and an allowance made to replace.

Then there is the microwave up over the stove. It is a HUGE safety hazard per the Kitchen Designers Assoc. which says a microwave should never be higher than 4" below the shoulder height of the shortest person to use it because of the risk of leaning over the stove if on or lifting something hot down. Over-the-stove MW are set at 54" off the ground or for someone at minimum 5'7". Average woman is 5'4 -5'5. Great - now I have to move the microwave to a cabinet or counter.

As a buyer, those would be my objections to the house -- I see about $3000 -4000 in materials if I do the work and about $10,000-15,000 if I hire someone -- plus the cost of a frig, stove, microwave and dishwasher so now I am at $6500 (me) - $15,500 (contractor)

I would look at it but not be willing to go the (1) median comp (which I would have researched) minus (2) any higher costs to do this house with paint etc than the median comp.

BTW: Silly to worry that a picture shows the washer in the basement. If they don't come to look because it is down there, if they didn't know and came to look and saw it down there, they wouldn't go further.

Ann -- It might be helpful to know the median selling price in these five counties, since you give specific dollar values for various things.

You value an (additional) acre at $4K. In my suburban 'neck of the woods' you can pay $1M for the first acre.

And the part where you say that there is no upward adjustment for new carpet, paint, appliances or upgrades needs some explanation... Buyers, and appraisers, may not give any of these individual items value, but they will give value to a "bucketful" of these items. On the appraisal form, there is an itemized line for condition, where this will be reflected. And buyers will pay a premium for a home that has the above items compared to a property that does not.

You value an (additional) acre at $4K. In my suburban 'neck of the woods' you can pay $1M for the first acre.

And here a 1/2 acre on the water would be well north of 2M. However head east about 15 miles and an acre can be had for peanuts.

And buyers will pay a premium for a home that has the above items compared to a property that does not.

Agreed. Updated condos in my building will go for $100's of thousands more than those that have the original fixtures, kitchens, baths, etc from when the house was built in the early 80's. Even those that were last updated in the mid 90's are selling for significantly less than a totally updated and renovated condo.

However we did get our bank appraisal today to build our new home, and there Ann is correct. The bank doesn't give a hoot about any of those items.