Should You Take Your Home off the Market?

Every seller hopes for the best when they first put their home on the market. Getting a great offer shortly after listing and selling for top dollar are obvious goals for sellers. But what happens if there are no takers? At what point should you regroup and pull your home off the market?

While the thought of taking your home off the market isn’t exactly a pleasant one, sometimes it could be a strategic move on your part in an effort to start again on a better foot. Here are some signs that it might be time to take your home off the market, even if just temporarily.

You’re Getting a Few Lowball Offers

As a seller, you obviously want to get as much money for your home as you can. But if all you’re getting are offers that are far less than the listing price, it might be tough to get buyers to inch their way up to what you’re asking.

Of course, you can always entertain these offers and try to negotiate with buyers until there’s a meeting of the minds, but repeat lowball offers can be a sign that buyers don’t think your home is worth what you’re asking. The problem is, the longer your home sits on the market, the more difficult it will be to sell. And as it lingers on the market, buyers may start to think there’s a problem with the home, which will likely continue the trend of lowball offers.

If that’s the case, it may be a good idea to take your home off the market and rethink your marketing strategy.

There Aren’t Enough Buyers Out There

If the market is lagging in terms of the number of active buyers out there, you may find it more of a challenge to find a willing buyer. This can be an even bigger issue if the competition is fierce. Few buyers and many listings create a buyer’s market, which is great for them but not so good for you.

Supply and demand play a key role in how quickly you’ll be able to sell. If you’d rather wait until the competition settles down and more buyers start flooding the market, then perhaps taking your home off the market might make sense. Otherwise, you might have a hard time selling, no matter how well-priced it might be or what condition it may be in.

The Current Market is Saturated With Listings

Sometimes properties don’t sell in a reasonable amount of time because the market is oversaturated with listings. With a massive inventory out there, buyers have their pick of the litter. Unless your home really stands out, it can easily get lost in the crowd. This is especially true if your listing price is higher than what other similar homes in the area are listed at.

If other homes are selling and yours is just lingering on the market for weeks with no bites, it might be time to make some changes.

An Improvement Needs to Be Made on the Home

Ideally, any home improvements and upgrades should be made before your home hits the market. Properties that are in tip-top shape when they’re listed tend to get the most attention and give buyers a much better impression compared to those that still need some work. Unless buyers are specifically looking for fixer-uppers or tear-downs, the majority of buyers want a turn-key property that they feel a connection to.

If you want to be able to compete in your market, there may be some upgrades that need to be made. Sometimes properties don’t sell quickly because they’re unable to compete with other listings in the area. For example, a similar home down the street that’s listed around the same price may have a newly updated bathroom and kitchen, while yours doesn’t. It would be tough to compete in this case.

Taking your home off the market can give you enough time to make the necessary improvements and be more competitive in the market. Consult with your real estate agent and focus on improvements that buyers in the area are actually looking for, and be sure not to spend more money than you’ll be able to recoup come sale time.

Your Home Needs a Price Adjustment

Pricing your home right from the get-go is one of the most important aspects of real estate marketing real. If your home is overpriced, it will almost certainly lose out on potential buyers who would have otherwise considered your home. If you’re not getting much traffic, it could very well be that your home is priced over what the current market dictates.

If you want to remain competitive, you need to ensure that your home’s price is accurate. While you could lower the price, taking it off the market and re-listing it at a completely new price can avoid any stigma that may be attached to a home that was forced to lower its price point.

Circumstances in Your Life Have Changed

Anything can happen while your home is on the market. You could lose your job, suffer a health crisis, be slapped with an unexpected expense, or go through a family dilemma. Whatever the case may be, now might not be an ideal time to sell your home because you’ll likely be more focused on whatever is happening in your life at this moment.

The Bottom Line

The idea of taking your home off the market probably never enters your mind when you first list your property. But in certain circumstances, it might just be the right choice to make to increase your odds of a successful transaction. As always, consult with your real estate agent before making any significant decisions like this.