8 Things that Make a Home Unsellable
Business Insider polled real estate agents across the country to identify common issues that plague sellers. While it’s true that a low enough price will sell any house, most sellers would rather maximize their potential than leave money on the table. If you’re ramping up to sell and have any of these things going on, it’s time to enter correction mode.
1. Dicey location
Location is a huge factor, but not always a deal breaker. In most communities, being located next to train tracks, a school or the power grid would have a significant impact on value, but in areas like South Tampa where there is little room for expansion, these things can have much less impact.
However, if you’re in an area where land is a little more available, some of the hardest homes to sell include those with obstructed views, on busy roads, and next to airports and frat houses. Unfortunately, a genuinely bad location can only be corrected with price.
2. Unrealistic price
This one is as straightforward as it is common: Every real estate agent knows what their client wants to make when they sell their house—but that doesn’t mean they’re gonna get it. Put simply, an unsellable home is one that isn’t priced right.
If you’re a seller and you need a certain price, there are some high-ROI improvements you can make to bring up your value. If you don’t want to do anything at all, but still want the price you want, see #8.
3. Unpleasant odors
The smell of stale tobacco or nicotine stains on walls can reduce the price of a home by 30%. This means that $750k house just went on sale for $525k.
As for cat pee, when a homebuyer on Reddit asked if she should pass on a home purchase due to the smell of cat urine, she got this response: “You'll never get the smell completely out. All the enzyme treatments in the world won't get into the nooks and crannies where urine has reached over the years. You think you’ve gotten it all, then one humid day the smell comes rushing back.”
4. Lack of light
Every buyer dreams of landing a light-filled home: Maybe one with an open floor plan and banks of windows bathing the home in natural light. No buyer dreams of a gloomy home reliant on artificial light. Any property is sellable at the right price, but lack of light is one factor that really turns buyers off.
Light makes a house feel bigger than it really is and increases its value, so it’s worth doing something if you don’t have any. Ways to bring in natural light include:
Hang a mirror opposite a window
Paint walls/ceilings creamy white
Install solar tubes or skylights
Place furniture strategically
Don't block windows
5. Deferred maintenance
What’s under the hood? Neglecting major repairs will make a home unsellable. And if you didn’t have a cash buyer, the house couldn’t sell because it wouldn’t pass inspection. Deferred maintenance includes some fairly serious issues, like roof replacement, termite control, and environmental issues like mold remediation.
6. Ugly décor/clutter/no staging
You’d think buyers could look past dated décor, but not even real estate agents are immune to feeling some kinda way about a poorly decorated home. A house that’s seriously dated can be unsellable simply due to the cumulative cost of updating every finish. Even one ugly kitchen countertop can cause a house to sell for much less than the market average, so it’s worth fine-tuning the small details, even investing in some updates, before you put your house on the market.
As for staging, according to 2023 data from the Real Estate Staging Association, staged, clutter-free homes sell for $40k over list price. ‘Nuff said.
7. Bad architecture
In this, the day of HGTV, it’s hard to accept the idea that any home might be incorrigible. But there are some elements to a home that can make it unsellable simply because of the difficulty or expense of correcting them. These elements can include small rooms, strange layouts, weird angles, low ceilings and other undesirable design features.
8. Uncooperative sellers
Unruly pets, unwillingness to put in some work, unwillingness to invest in needed improvements, not purging belongings, not vacating the property for showings, generally being difficult—all of these will issues will prevent a seller from getting the price they want, and may event prevent a sale from happening at all.
Find a great real estate agent and put your trust in them!
