HOUSE HUNTING Look into reasons why home won't sell

Let's say your neighbor's house sold in about 15 minutes for wayover the asking price. His house had a bit of a view and yours hasnone. But your house seems fairly priced, the inventory is low andyet your home is unsold.

Why isn't your home selling when others are?

If you're selling in what you hear is a sizzling market, it's easyto lull yourself into false expectations. Are all sellers in yourarea really selling in a flash? Probably not.

It's hard to decipher what's really going on. Real estate is a hottopic of conversation. Neighborhood gossip is prone to exaggeration.Two offers can turn into five as news of a sale travels through therumor mill.

HOME SELLER TIP. To find out what really is going on requires afact-finding foray that's best done with the help of your listingagent. Ask your agent to provide you with a list of all the homes inyour price range that were listed around the time your home went onthe market, and all those that have come on the market since then.

How many of these listings are pending or sold? How long did theytake to sell? This data is easily retrievable from the MultipleListing Service. Then, find out if the pending and sold listingsreceived multiple offers, or only one? This information isn't readilyavailable from the MLS, so your agent will have to ask other listingagents for the information.

The next step is to compare the list price and amenities of yourhome with the listings that sold. If you see a big discrepancybetween your price and your competitor's prices, and you're on thehigh side, your asking price is too high for the market.

This fact may be hard to accept, particularly if you thought you'dpriced your house right for the market to begin with. However, themarket is dynamic, not static. As market factors change, so will thevalue of your home.

Increased inventory, which we're starting to see in some markets,can account for a slowdown in the time it takes for listings to sell.If you selected a list price based on comparable sales from a fewmonths ago, when there was a shortage of homes for sale relative tobuyer demand, those sale prices may be higher than you can expectgiven current market conditions.

Also make sure that you use sales data that is truly comparable.For example, in Oakland, Calif., listings in the Rockridgeneighborhood tend to sell for higher prices than similar-sizelistings in the Montclair neighborhood. Sales in these two areasaren't comparable in terms of price.

After analyzing the factual data, you may find that your priceisn't out of line for the market. In this case, you should re-evaluate your marketing plan to make sure that it provides fullexposure to the market. If you find that your agent isn't making yourlisting a priority, let her know what you expect.

Also, ask your agent to talk with the buyer's agents who haveshown your home. This will give you valuable feedback regarding whytheir buyers turned your home down. It may be because of a conditionthat you can do something about, like a garish paint color or petodor.

REAL ESTATE BROKER AND AUTHOR DIAN HYMER WRITES FROM THE SANFRANCISCO/OAKLAND AREA.

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