Why is This House on the Market for so Long?

A common question that Buyers ask is how long aunreasonable. They do not want to sell their
house is on the market. If it is too long, interest isproperties for a dime less than what they are asking.
lost quickly. It is a natural reaction to not beIt may be a ridiculouse price, but it may also be
interested in something that no one else is interestedentierly reasonable. But, not negotiating at all turns
in. The natural assumption is that there must beaway a lot of Buyers. So, the property will sit until a
something majorly wrong with the home. But thereBuyer is willing to give in completely to the Seller.
are many reasons why a house has been on theIf you are interested in a house that has been on
market for a while.the market a long time, do not dismiss it soley on
A very common reason is that the home wasthe number of days on market. One thing to check
originally listed to high. When a home is first on theout is the average days on market of the
market, it will get a large amount of traffic with theneighborhood. If the average is high, get your agent's
group of Buyers currently looking. It is crucial for it toopnion as to if that is normal or because the
not be over-listed, or those potential Buyers will pass,neighborhood is a undesirable area that will be hard to
either because it simply is not showing up in the rightresell. If the average is lower than that particular
price range or those people looking in that pricehouse, just investigate the house, as you would with
range are finding better deals. So, the house sits onany property. Get it thoroughly inspected. Check that
the market for the first couple weeks withoutit is not in a restricted area, like a flood zone or
intriguing any interest. Even if the price is lowered,endangered species area. Also, most MLS systems
the initial rush of Buyers is over. And the damage ofwill show if the property ever went pending. If so,
the house being on the market for a while with noask the listing agent what happened the last time the
offers was already done.home went under contract and why those Buyers
Another reason a house is on the market for a whilechose not to purchase the property.
is that the showing procedure for the house isIn the end, choose a property because you enjoy it
difficult. There could be unwilling tenants, or evenand any repairs are something you can handle. Days
some Sellers themselves make it extremely hard toon market could be an indication of the property
show a property. If the home cannot easily be seen,having severe problems, but that is not always the
there will be lots of missed opportunities to havecase. Look at it in context of the market area and
possibly sold the house. So, the place stays on theget it inspected as you would with any home. Some
market for a while.of the best deals are properties that are being
Also, some Sellers or even their agents could beignored by everyone else.