It’s simple. The price is too high. (There’s no law that says houses have to appreciate in value. Sometimes they don’t. Sometimes they DEpreciate due to factors outside our control.)

Are we preaching to the choir here, folks? Let's back off and give the OP a chance to digest it all.

Waco - saying that every house will sell at the right price is not meaningless noise, but simple truth. I have no doubt that all the people who walked away from their homes after the last crash could have sold their homes - but not for the price they needed or wanted, because - another truism coming up - the market doesn't care what the vendor needs or wants. Thats the point of what everyone is saying. That house, priced appropriately, and better marketed, will sell. Only the OP knows whether the price at which it will sell is good enough.

I don't know that this was a realtor issue or an owner issue

Looked at the sales and listings by the agent.

3 closings this year on properties listed by the agent - all 3 w/in 5k of the original listing price and on the market 1-2 months.

One pending that was listed at the zillow z-estimate on 6/20.

Sold properties look like they were priced well. All 4 were also under $360K

She has 4 other properties that all started way over z-estimate

7/11/19 Listed for $410 - $27k over z-estimate - reduced 20k

5/16/19 listed for $500 - $48k over z-estimate - reduced 40k

12/12/18 listed for $1,500 - $275k over z-estimate - reduced $205k

2/18/17 listed for $1,195 - $41k over z-estimate - reduced 5k

z-estimates are not perfect, but they usually aren't $30k+ off the mark

When I sold real estate I had listings that were over-priced due to customer demand. I tried to get them to list at a good selling price, but didn't turn down the listing if they wanted pie in the sky.

"I have a friend who had underwear stolen during an open house..."

Cindy, that's just creepy! I have a friend who (stupidly!) left a very expensive diamond ring sitting on a night stand during an open house. WHY the realtor didn't check around for such things before the open house is beyond me. The open house ended and the ring was gone. Surprisingly (and luckily!) it showed up in a plain envelope in the owner's mailbox a few weeks later.

Cindy- that's way off the mark. Creepy people can follow you home from anywhere. Creepy kinds of people are everywhere. They can copy your car keys. They can make a note of your address if you take your car in to be repaired. All they need is your last name (restaurant host calling out your party's name) and search engines tell them exactly where you live. Don't be naive.

All sellers who are having open houses should have a go-to box in the garage, hidden amongst other storage - all bills, all credit card files, prescriptions, fine jewelry, watches, etc.

Same for DVDs- if you are selling your house- store DVDs/ CDs in a storage tub in the garage- under other tubs. Take it with you when you leave or hide it well.

I showed comaprison pics of things OP can do to update her decor without lots of money. it is easy to criticize, as clearly you do. Where is your help to the OP?

Read the post again…thinking OP is not the owner at all…just waisting our time might be a good guess. No where in the post is there a word which indicates ownership…”why won’t this house sell”…not “why won’t MY house sell”.

Also, no indication the OP has been involved with houzz before.

https://www.houzz.com/user/ka1128

An FYI, I used to rely on Zillow, but now I am finding Redfin.com more reliable and up to date on values.

Interesting that the asking price, now, is only $4,000.00 more than the last sell in 2004.

How is St Louis for living? I just saw the property taxes and almost fainted away. Under $500.00? Holy you know what! That’s less than my quarterly water bill.

"Read the post again…thinking OP is not the owner at all..."

Judy, I was just thinking the same thing. LOL, I completely hear you regarding the property taxes! How I WISH!!!

Judy G. Website like spokeo and others that use public records and tell you the name of the owner based on the address - The OP is likely the homeowner. Property sales are public record. Op provided the address.

DK, while that info may searchable, If I were the op, I wouldn't want it advertised here.

OP I'm sorry that you may have to lose money here. It's a bitter pill to swallow.

Cindy- The OP provided the address. Homeownership is a public record. She might not live there. She knew what she was doing posting the address for help in selling the home. However, parents and grandparents beware- this is an example as to why kids should NOT give their address to on-line chat rooms / groups. Besides, Cindy, it was you who trolled her profile for activity.

The purpose of an open house is not to sell your home, it is a tool used by the agents to gather potential buyers. The likelihood that your home will sell through an open house is slim. The likelihood that an agent will get a buyer hooked and sell them some home that fits their needs is good. Let your realtor hold an open house if you like them enough to help them build their client list.

Have your realtor hold a broker's open house with something that will bring the agents into the house (good food, lottery tickets, chance to win money or a really nice gift basket). Getting agents through your home is important. They will provide great feedback and they are more likely to show a home they have been through than a blind listing.

Penny- why do you say she will lose money? On the contrary-. TWO PENDING sales are her neighborhood. The sale in May was low because the house was listed in a cool market time- January

These nearby Pending houses will up her home value, which was dragged down by the May sales for $390k

The outlined neighborhood is Cantebury Farm estates.

Jennifer, while you are correct that agents like to use an open house for leads......

However, a motivated and aggressive seller can capitalize on the traffic coming to the neighborhood! especially for out of-the-area-buyers seeing other homes via appointment with their agent. If a comp home was having open house trafffic, use Strategic Signage for your home, as is key to marketing on such days. You don't want to be they first stop in the tour that day as most buyers are anxious to see all that awaits them. There is nothing to lose if you take this action- your house stays in top show-worthy condition.

I think the house would show better without any furniture at all. It's not about the aesthetics of the decor per se but how lost it looks in what appears to be extremely large rooms.

Looking at the pictures all I could think of is how much furniture and other stuff it would take for it to actually feel like a "home". I am not sure whether the headboard of the master bedroom is built in or just furniture - just an example of why a clean slate would look better.

There is just a disconnect with the rooms and the furnishings. The large living room isn't a terrible space but it just looks unloveable with those gray chairs clumped together detracting from the positive aspect of the space. Without the furniture the windows would be a positive as I've seen people ooh and aah over those kinds of rooms that are staged to take advantage of the space. Similarly, for example, the basement doesn't look like a place where people actually have a good time - there is a clump of furniture at one end and then a bar at the other with nothing in-between.

Obviously fair market value is exactly what a seller and buyer agree upon at any specific moment in time. If one wants to just test the market, that can sometimes work as I knew someone who overpriced her home and sold it more than a year later - she had no particular incentive to move unless she got the price she wanted.

It sounds like she has quite an investment in this property. I couldn't put a monetary amount on it, but having had hardwood floors installed, in addition to all of the other things she says she's done (or he), it sounds like a fair amount.

But then, I'm not delving into this as much as you are.

Agree with Helen, that empty would be more appealing. However the family might still be living there.

I have been licensed in real estate for over 15 years.

An open house will help you determine the facts & feedback. Listen to what others said. If no potential buyers showed up then that's a good indicator it's probably over priced.

A good Realtor would of given several comps off the MLS to determine the true value of the home in that location according to the current market. If they did not show comps & facts to explain the price & just gave a higher # than others wanting to list the home. They gave out a fairytale to get your signature to lock in & call later to lower price. That is not a good practive, but unfortunatley a popular way of getting a listing locked in. I do not agree with that way, but a lot of agents do this & it's wrong,imo.

Sometimes it's the seller that demands a higher than Realtor suggested price. Then it's the seller's hopes that get in the way of a fair price & scares the buyers away.

Gather comps & facts in your area. Be fair & realistic to attract a buyer.

If out dated, then list it lower than the comparables of renovated properties in your area.

Sharon, can you share what to look for in an agent when looking to list your house? Is it just the comp info?

Perhaps OP is trying to sell her aging (or deceased) parents' home.

OP posted back in 2015 asking for advice on precisely this house - the living rooms windows in her previous posting are identical to the ones on the real estate listing - so I'm pretty sure it's actually her house.

DK Hass, I had a lot of out of state home buyers come into town when I sold real estate and I moved from CA to PA and had to buy a home.

I used the same process to find a home for myself as I did for my clients. . .

Gather the basic information: Where is your job? How far can you comfortably commute?What is your max price? What is your ideal price? #Bedrooms, #Bathrooms, SF, Ranch or 2 Story, Kids? Schools? Additional needs/wants.

I sent the entire list of homes that were available and fit the buyers criteria to the potential buyer (Now available via the internet). I would work with the buyer to select up to 30 homes from the list. As a realtor, it was my job to preview the homes that fit within the guidelines provided. (Something I have found a lot of realtors don't bother doing). (I knew my market inventory like the back of my hand.) I would watch the list and new listing up to the morning of our appointment - liked to have 2 days, back to back to view everything. I would set 10-12 homes to see each day - early morning to late evening. I tried to educate those who had pie in the sky visions of what they could get for their money and would preview homes in areas where they may find better options if they thought they knew more than me.

Day 1 usually yielded a good contender or a realization that the potential buyer couldn't afford prices in their preferred areas of San Diego and would have to either compromise on sf, price or location. Day 2 usually ended in an offer unless this was just a look before you leap trip. (I did several trips to PA and looked at homes to get a good feel for the market in the year prior to moving.)

Seeing an open house sign didn't change the game. If the property fit their needs it would have been on my list. Something about it won't work. The idea that someone will just randomly drive by an open house that perfectly fits their needs is slim to none.

DK Hass - took some time looking at the comps you had on estately,

Target home is 10026 Cantebury Farms Ct.

List price $460, SF 2810, $163/sf 4 br/4ba , 1/2 acre

Comps

Sold - 10062 Catebury Farms Ct. Only a few doors down the street

Sold price $390, SF 2531, $154/sf, 4br/4ba, 1/2 acre

Penidng

List price $450, SF 3133, $143/sf, 3br/4ba, 1/3 acre

Contingent

List price $519, SF 2917, $184/sf, 4br/4ba, 1/3 acre - ( note in listing info - Total Living Area: 4016 Source: Appraisal)

If you are a buyer why would you pay more than $154/sf or $433 for this house? More than likely they will offer the $143/sf or $401. The offer of $425 was a good offer. If they got an offer at the original list price of $500 it wouldn't have appraised for that price and they would have lowered the price during after sale negotiations. They may not be able to get the $460 in an appraisal. Banks don't want the risk.

It is obvious that this home was not the best value for the $$$ and people made offers on the other two homes in the neighborhood. All were built around the same time, all are in similar condition. Price was the game changer.

Jennifer Logan, good info. Agree.

Hi, PennyDesign,

Good question "can you share what to look for in an agent when looking to list your house? Is it just the comp info?"

Here's what I learned being a Realtor & real estate agent behind the scenes at several brokerages. There's good agents out there, & there are bad ones,too.

1st thing is each state has it's unique laws & rules, so look up your state for more details locally.

I can speak for VA.

1st

Before interviewing any real estate professionals. Try finding a Pro who is active in the area. Who sells similar homes to the one you want to sell. Start looking up current listings & see who is SELLING similar properties near the property to be sold.
Choose at least 3 to investigate from the findings

2nd

then go to your state's licensing board & look up their license info. See how long they have a license, any other licenses in their name, has any violations, etc.

There's a difference between a real estate agent & a Realtor. The main advantage is Realtors have access to the mostly used MLS (Multiple Listing Service). There is an extra code of ethics to abide to to keep that title. If someone is selling their home, they got to get their home on the MLS or they are missing out big time. Realtors do their main searches on the MLS when looking for homes to present to their clients. It also shows the Realtor the commission split & how much. I know a lot of Realtors that will not show homes unless it is advertised at least 3% to buyer agents.

There's a difference from an agent & broker. A broker must have at least 3 years of experience & pass a lot more courses, etc.

You do not necessarily need a broker, over an agent, but a broker can own their own firm & they are often more experienced.

3rd

set up an interviews with at least 3. Make a list of questios to ask. Print 3 copies of questions & write down the answers during the interview.

Examples to look for,

Did they bring MLS Comparables for recent month, 3 6 or a year?

Are the Comparables truly comparable? (watch out for tricks) research later to check facts are facts.

Did they show up on time?

Do they look & carry themselves professionally?

Did they bring a copy of listing contract to keep & review before signing?

Were they more concerned about themselves than your needs & the home?

Did they listen to your concerns?

Were they polite? Nice? Rude? Arrogant? Condescending? etc.

Did you feel you could work with this person? Did you like them?

Do they have too many listings? Are they too busy to provide good service?

What services do they offer?

Do they have a good network of subs to get the job done, example contractor for addendums, home inspectors, stagers, office staff? (If office staff, find out who will be communitcating with the real estate pro or their staff? If staff, try to meet them,too) I know some power brokers who rarely work & pay their assitants peanuts to do all their suppose to be doing work. Not cool, imo.

Red Flags

-lots of signs up, but on the market too long. May be getting over priced listings to advertise themselves & lock into exclusive agreements the lower price later. This is not good for the sellers. Price right in the beginning.

- too many listings, may be too busy to be available when you need them

-avoid dual agency. That's when an agent is representing both the buyer & seller. IMO, this is a major no no. It's illegal in some states. You want someone on your side only. I have seen dual agency relationships where the listing agent will push for a buyer they know & ignore other agents in order to keep all the commission. Even seen better offers come in, but the agent pushed the other lower offer to get the double commission. This is wrong, but I have heard agents doing this.

- watch out for over promises. If someone says something like "if you list with me I can get you more" " I have a lot of buyers looking for this" That's rarely true. mostly misleading. Over promises or deceitful, imo. Find an honest Real estate Pro. If they lie about small things, they probably lie about big things.

- watch out for big name franchises. Each franchise is different with different owners. They have higher overhead expenses & franchise fees which can end up as fees to the seller or buyer, example, paper filing fees, & other non necessary fees needed to sell a home. In my experience, smaller,local firms seem to be an overall better experience to work for & offer more personalize service. Plus, often the smaller firms offer better commission splits to their employees which means the agents make more $ & therefore usually work harder & seem happier in general.

- an agent insisting a lot of remodeling needs to be done to sell the home or make more on sale. Yes, some things may need to be updated, refreshed, staged, home inspection fixes, etc. But, what matter to the seller is how much ROI (Return On Investment) goes into their accounts. A lot of agents push for all these unnecessary, expensive remodels before listing, because they know the house will sell faster & may sell for more. BUT, it usually does not sell more than the costs of the remodel. Sometimes less. But who truly wins in that scenario? The real estate agent got a higher commission faster. So, watch out for that. To get a more unbas opinion, hire your own real estate appraiser. The ones who the banks send out to know how much $ to lend on a home before investing into bigger remodels. A good stager can do wonders to make a home presentable to attract buyers. The home is worth what it is worth.

To sum it all down, find someone who treats others the way you want to be treated. Choose someone who listens, experienced, fair about pricing, has extra services to make the sale go through smoothly.

I would ony sign an exclusive agreement for 6 months, instead of the common 1 year. The reason why is it helps prevent over pricing & being locked in with a Real estate pro that is not producing the way you had hoped. If a Real estate pro can not sell something in 6 months in a good market, then find another. If they won't budge on this, then find someone who will. All contracts are negotiable before signed.

Hope that helps anyone looking to sell a home soon.

I agree that this house is really outated looking, but it has good bones. have that house professionally staged. it will help buyers see the potential. if it's truly in a great location, somebody will want to put in the work to bring it up to date.

but yeah, I agree that your agent may have overpriced it.

I live in the St. Louis area and follow the real estate market closely.
My assessment is as follows:

Pro: great space , awesome light and well maintained, nice yard

Con: mediocre school district that is very close to areas (ie ;all of Jeff co) where someone can build and buy a new house very reasonably. Hate to say it, but as nice as south county is , it is not particularly “ prestigious “ so no one is going to pay a premium to live there—in many, many areas 500k is at the top of the market. Your house is very open but not anything close to “modern farmhouse” “beach” “craftsman” or good mid century modern . The outside doesn’t make a statement and is far from the McMansion style which is most of what is (sadly) being built today in south county. The yard is absolutely beautiful and nicely landscaped but does look like it is sloping in back towards the house (? Maybe just camera angle) which might spook some buyers. Inside is pretty much a 80-90s modern which doesn’t have much of the architectural detail and look that buyers want today. The wood floors are great but you need some area rugs to warm things up and define spaces. Look closely at the posted pics—those are the looks that appeal to buyers today. The kitchen, baths and bedroom decor are dated.

Unfortunately, if you compare urban sprawl on a per capital basis, the St. Louis area is one of the most sprawled in the country (urban planners did the study at Washington Univ). What that means is that it is exceptionally easy and affordable for someone to go a little farther out and build their new HG TV type dream house. Unless you are in an inner ring , centrally located , highly desirable location with great schools (think Clayton, Ladue, Kirkwood, parts of Chesterfield, Des Peres, Sunset Hills, Creve Coeur, Frontenac) it is going to be much more difficult to sell a dated older (which to many buyers is anything that is over 10 years old) home no matter how nicely it has been maintained. In an inner ring suburb, if your home is old and dated, there is a good chance that it will sell quickly but will be torn down —the value of the land is the most appealing aspect to the buyer who wants that HG TV clone. If you do some research, you will find (no matter what all these real estate agents tell you) that the only sector in St. Louis that has area that has consistently appreciated and outpaced inflation over a 25 year period has been the central corridor east of St. Charles.

Sharon thank you so much...wonderful and informative information that I'll hold onto!

I am not a real estate agent, but I like looking at the listings in my area (Midwest but not the St Louis area).

I unfortunately think (in my unprofessional opinion) is that the price and decor is what is keeping the house from selling.

I find it interesting that only 28% of the homes in that area have school aged children (I believe that was the statistic a PP quoted). I'm a bit confused then on who your target market is. Is it families with high school aged students? If you're trying to appeal to families, my experience (talking with my friends that work in real estate) is that most families don't have time for "projects". They (unfortunately) want a house that is nearly move in ready. And there is a lot that needs to be done to make it more up to date.

I have relatives that recently sold their house. They updated before they decided to sell; they updated for them but also kept resale in mind. Their house sold in a week in the winter. They sold to a family with 2 young children and the reason they bought their house was because they didn't need to do any updating. Not only was the decor updated, but they had recently gotten a new HVAC system (< 5 years old), new roof, gutters and siding. While they did not get the ROI on what they actually spent on these upgrades/updating, they sold their house fast, and for a reasonable price (I think only a few thousand less than what they were asking). In other words...their house was also priced to sell.

There are plenty of houses similar to yours with lots of wood 35 miles SW of Chicago, and they sell just fine. The price is the problem. If you look at the "sold" properties on Zillow, you'll see that a brick 2 story just around the corner from you sold for 425K in April of this year.

I think it always comes down to price. Comps matter. Just changing décor won't raise offers to the level you want.

I do agree that this house may have been overpriced. however, I think better staging and better pictures + a new listing will generate more interest. it probably won't go for the amount the seller is hoping, but maybe it'll speed things up.

Gracie01 - not to threadjack, but where are you located? I'm also in the 'burbs SW of Chicago.

chocolatebunny, New Lenox

I wonder did the original poster check out? Lots of advice, maybe not what one wants to hear but... Yes I believe that ir definitely comes down to price.

Waving at you from Frankfort, gracie01! :-)

The OP appears to have disappeared but the debate goes on. What I'm seeing (as a disinterested 3rd party) is a HEAVILY stylized home (interior window trim is very strong looking in the natural wood) with dated staging/furnishings/window accents. The expensive things to change (kitchen/bath cabinets) are yet to be updated.

AS someone who has NO interest in a country look (nor overstuffed furniture nor dated window coverings) I would not be attracted to the interior of the home. As much as I believe staging can sell a house, I also believe it can detract from a home. If these are personal furnishings, then there isn't much to be done. But if this is staged (any room) then it would be better to leave those areas empty so that the prospective buyers can IMAGINE their own furniture in this space.

What I'm seeing is a home that is in the MIDST of being updated...but not fully completed. I see many projects (expensive ones) that will need doing in the next 5-10 years. Yes this home is 'move in ready' but it is dated and that dated look is being magnified by the interior furnishings/finishings.

And as someone who HATES mint green, I highly recommend getting rid of the basement paint colour. This is just one of many projects that will need 'doing' to move this house out of the 90's. It is a nicely built 1990's home....but it is still firmly fixed in the 90's.

That's just my take on this home.

Gracie and Jay - greetings from Naperville :)

The house has a LOT of problems, from my perspective, but that’s not to say why it’s not selling (for all we know the neighbouring houses are no better). I’d get some advice to be satisfied it’s properly priced in the first place. If it is, then it needs a lot of paint work (the finishes are—not nice) and a lot of staging to show how oddly proportioned rooms can be made to work. And window coverings to minimize those scoopy windows on the fireplace wall.

Thanks for all of the advice. Here's what we've done. All the curtains/drapes were removed. We've had the hallway, purple bedroom and front yellow bedroom as well as the office repainted a neutral color and some better staging done with what we had to work with. Next open house is next Sunday....

Hoping for the very best outcome for you!

Open the windows! Turn on all the lights. Drop the price.

Absolutely NO cheap scented anything! No vanilla unless you baked edible cookies. No plug ins scent anywhere ! Nothing makes asthmatics I'll faster, and the rest? They GAG

Super clean, clean and fresh scent of clean AIR.... and get your head around a new price.

Fingers crossed for you :)

My biggest turn off is the location. SoCo is not desirable to me. Second turn off is all the dang wood. It's just so… woody. :(

Drop the price, market it aggressively. SOMEBODY will buy it if the price is right.

I think the changes you did- removing the valances, repainting in neutral colors, and finally, a bit of staging- will help you considerably. Good luck and post back to update us. (are you going to get new pix posted for the listing? that would be very worthwhile ). I do think you want to have it noted that changes have been made and you want to draw attention to that. Maybe even new price- freshly updated.

Can you get new pics in by Sunday of the rooms you’ve changed? And be sure that the old pics of the now-changed rooms are gone, including on Zillow, etc. —also a new pic of the front of the house without the garage.

Good luck with your open house!

I agree with Jan. no scents or air fresheners of any kind, natural or not. you're not fooling anybody, and so many people are allergic / sensitive / or just merely hate being around that stuff.

Good luck!!!

Good Luck! Let us know how it went. How many people showed up & their feedback. Entertain all offers for a few days.

This listing shows the house sold on 9/23/19 for $440,000.