5 Ways to Revive Stale Real Estate Listings

When a real estate listing has been sitting on the market for a long time, it's considered "stale." But how long is "a long time"?

Like so many things in real estate, it depends on what your market's like. If homes are going under contract within a week, then "stale" status can start in a matter of weeks. If listings tend to spend more days on market near you, then it would take much longer to be considered "stale."

If you've taken a look at your market and think your real estate listing may be "stale," don't panic! Try these steps for freshening up your listing and enticing buyers.

1. Expand the audience your listing is reaching.

It could be that the right prospects just haven't caught a glimpse of your dream property yet! Get your listing in front of fresh eyes by advertising it on the biggest online networks, like Facebook and Google.

2. Ask why prospective buyers didn't purchase the property.

Reach out to agents whose clients toured the property and decided it wasn't the home for them. Find out what made them say no to your listing (you can likely do this through the system that you used to schedule showings).

Maybe you'll find out that they were turned off by old appliances, dingy paint or insufficient lighting. If there's a relatively easy fix that might prevent a buyer from opting for a comparable listing instead of yours, suggest to your clients that they make those changes.

3. Do a "walk-through" of your own listing, pretending you're the buyer.

Try to get a new perspective by pretending that you came upon this property and are scoping it out for yourself. What could make it more appealing?

Again, if you see some easy fixes, bring it up with the sellers and see if they are wiling to put in a little elbow grease to revamp the listing.

4. Get some new glamour shots.

Don't give any buyer a reason to cross your home off their list before they've even seen it! Those photos need to show the home in its best light – literally!

Make sure your pictures reflect the season. Seeing snow on the house in July will just underscore how long the home has been on the market. Buyers may also take the photo quality as a signal about how well cared for the home is.

Get some tips on how to make your listing shine in our post: The Case for Professional Listing Photos.

5. Change the property description in the MLS.

It might seem trivial, but engaging writing (with perfect grammar) in your property description goes a long way. Find ways to capture the best parts of the home, and help prospects envision themselves living there.

Even a property that needs updates can be positioned as a launching point for a prospect's own touches.

To view the original article, visit the Homesnap blog.