You Rejected the Comps. You Ignored the Showing Feedback. You Refused to Reduce the Price. Ninety Days Later, the House Is Still Sitting—and Somehow You Think the Realtor Is the Problem.
Written by Devone Richard
6
Your house has been on the market for 90 days.
Twenty-seven buyers have walked through it.
Nobody wrote an offer.
Agents have given feedback.
Buyers have given feedback.
Your Realtor showed you the comparable sales before the house ever hit the market.
And everybody keeps saying some version of the same damn thing:
THE PRICE IS TOO HIGH.
But somehow, after 90 days, you’ve reached a completely different conclusion:
“I think we need a new Realtor.”
😂
Okay.
But before we fire the Realtor, can we ask one uncomfortable question?
HOW MANY PEOPLE HAVE TO TELL YOU NO BEFORE YOU REALIZE THE MARKET ALREADY GAVE YOU THE ANSWER?
“I THINK WE NEED BETTER PICTURES.”
Here we go.
The house has professional photography.
The rooms are bright.
The kitchen looks great.
The backyard looks great.
There’s drone photography.
There’s video.
There’s a virtual tour.
But apparently the problem is the photographer.
So what do you want us to do?
PHOTOGRAPH THE HOUSE HARDER? 😂
At some point, sellers have to understand something:
Beautiful photography can get a buyer interested.
It cannot make a buyer believe a $1.1 million house is suddenly worth $1.3 million.
MARKETING CAN CREATE ATTENTION.
IT CANNOT CREATE VALUE THAT BUYERS DON’T SEE.
“MY REALTOR ISN’T MARKETING IT ENOUGH.”
5
Let’s talk about that.
Your house is in the MLS.
It’s syndicated across major consumer real estate websites.
Buyers searching in your area and price range can find it.
Their agents can find it.
They’ve received listing alerts.
People have clicked on it.
Some have saved it.
Some have toured it.
And they still haven’t bought it.
THEY SAW YOUR HOUSE.
That’s the part some sellers don’t want to hear.
Visibility and desirability are not the same thing.
If nobody knew your house was for sale, we might have a marketing problem.
If everybody knows it’s for sale and nobody wants to buy it at your price?
WE MAY HAVE A PRICING PROBLEM.
Those are two completely different problems.
“LET’S DO ANOTHER OPEN HOUSE.”
Absolutely.
Let’s have another one.
Maybe the 31st person who walks through the front door will suddenly decide your house is worth $150,000 more than the comparable sales.
😂
Open houses can be useful.
They can generate exposure.
They can create conversations.
They can bring buyers through the property.
But if you’ve already had multiple open houses, private showings and plenty of exposure—and buyers keep reaching the same conclusion—another bowl of cookies isn’t fixing the problem.
YOU DON’T NEED MORE PEOPLE TO SEE THE HOUSE IF THE PEOPLE SEEING IT KEEP TELLING YOU THE SAME THING.
You need to listen to what they’re telling you.
“BUT I KNOW WHAT MY HOUSE IS WORTH.”
This is my favorite one.
Based on what?
What you paid?
What you put into it?
What your neighbor told you?
What you need to net?
What an online estimate says?
What another Realtor told you six months ago?
Or what buyers are actually willing to pay today?
Because there is a huge difference between:
WHAT YOU BELIEVE YOUR HOUSE SHOULD BE WORTH
and
WHAT THE MARKET IS WILLING TO PAY FOR IT.
You can love your house.
You can be proud of your house.
You can believe it’s the best house in the neighborhood.
But unless you’re planning to buy it from yourself, eventually somebody else has to agree with your price.
“BUT WE SPENT $100,000 REMODELING IT.”
7
Congratulations.
I hope you enjoyed it.
Seriously.
But the market doesn’t have a reimbursement department.
You spent $40,000 on the kitchen.
The buyer might hate the cabinets.
You spent $20,000 landscaping the backyard.
The buyer might want a pool.
You installed expensive flooring.
The buyer may walk in and immediately start discussing replacing it.
YOUR RENOVATION RECEIPTS ARE NOT AN APPRAISAL.
Improvements can absolutely add value.
But they don’t automatically add value dollar for dollar.
You remodeled the house based on your taste.
Now you’re asking a stranger to reimburse you for every decision you made.
That’s not how this works.
“MY NEIGHBOR’S HOUSE IS LISTED FOR MORE.”
Great.
Did it sell?
No?
Then I don’t care.
😂
AN ASKING PRICE IS NOT A COMPARABLE SALE.
Your neighbor can list their house for $4 million tomorrow.
That doesn’t make your house worth $4 million.
I want to know what buyers actually paid.
Closed sales matter.
Pending activity matters.
Current competition matters.
Market conditions matter.
A homeowner pulling a number out of the air does not establish the value of your property.
And neither does another overpriced listing sitting down the street next to yours.
HERE’S WHEN YOU SHOULD ABSOLUTELY BLAME THE REALTOR
I don’t let Realtors off the hook either.
If your agent took terrible pictures…
Doesn’t communicate…
Doesn’t return calls…
Doesn’t follow up…
Doesn’t provide showing feedback…
Doesn’t understand your market…
Can’t explain the pricing strategy…
Doesn’t know what’s happening with competing listings…
And basically stuck a sign in your yard and disappeared?
FIRE THEM.
You hired a professional.
Expect professional service.
But that’s completely different from a Realtor doing the job, showing you the data, communicating with you and repeatedly telling you something you don’t want to hear.
DON’T FIRE THE MESSENGER BECAUSE YOU DON’T LIKE THE MESSAGE.
SOME SELLERS WILL CHANGE REALTORS BEFORE THEY CHANGE THE PRICE
5
This is where it gets ridiculous.
Listing expires.
Seller hires Realtor #2.
New sign.
New photos.
New description.
New headshot on the flyer.
Maybe even a fancy new video.
And then…
THE SELLER PUTS THE HOUSE BACK ON THE MARKET AT ALMOST THE EXACT SAME PRICE.
What exactly are we expecting to happen?
Did the buyers disappear and get replaced by an entirely new population overnight?
The market remembers.
Buyers remember.
Agents remember.
They’ve seen the property.
And now the listing history tells them something else:
THIS SELLER HAS BEEN TRYING TO GET THIS NUMBER FOR MONTHS.
You didn’t erase the problem.
You changed the name on the sign.
AND NOW BUYERS SMELL BLOOD
This is what overpricing can eventually do.
Day 1:
Beautiful new listing.
Day 21:
Still available.
Day 45:
Price improvement.
Day 65:
Another price improvement.
Day 90:
Still available.
Now buyers aren’t asking:
“How quickly do we need to move?”
They’re asking:
“HOW DESPERATE DO YOU THINK THE SELLER IS?”
That’s a terrible shift in leverage.
You started out trying to squeeze an extra $100,000 out of the market.
Now buyers are wondering whether they can squeeze $100,000 out of you.
YOU WANTED TO CONTROL THE MARKET.
NOW THE MARKET IS NEGOTIATING AGAINST YOU.
THE WORST PART? YOUR REALTOR MAY HAVE TOLD YOU THIS 90 DAYS AGO
Remember that first listing appointment?
Your Realtor pulled the comparable sales.
Maybe the data suggested $1.1 million.
You wanted $1.25 million.
“Let’s just try it.”
“We can always come down.”
“I don’t want to leave money on the table.”
“Let’s test the market.”
Ninety days later:
$1.25M became $1.199M.
Then $1.175M.
Then $1.149M.
And suddenly you’re getting activity.
Interesting.
Wasn’t somewhere around there where the Realtor told you to start?
YOU DIDN’T TEST THE MARKET.
THE MARKET TESTED YOU.
And it took you three months to accept the answer.
FINAL THOUGHT
6
Selling your house is emotional.
I understand that.
It’s probably one of your largest financial assets.
You should want every dollar the market will give you.
EVERY DAMN DOLLAR.
A good Realtor should fight for that.
But fighting for your money doesn’t mean agreeing with everything you say.
Sometimes the most valuable thing your Realtor can tell you is the thing you don’t want to hear:
THE MARKET DOESN’T AGREE WITH YOUR PRICE.
So if the house has been sitting for 90 days…
The photography is professional…
The marketing is being done…
Buyers are seeing it…
Showings are happening…
Feedback keeps coming back…
Comparable homes are selling…
And yours isn’t…
Before you blame the Realtor, ask yourself:
WHAT IF THE REALTOR ISN’T THE PROBLEM?
You can fire the Realtor.
Change the sign.
Rewrite the description.
Take new pictures.
Shoot another video.
Hold another open house.
Put cookies in the kitchen.
Put balloons outside.
Hell, hire a marching band if you want.
😂
BUT IF YOU PUT THE SAME OVERPRICED HOUSE BACK ON THE SAME MARKET, THE MARKET IS GOING TO GIVE YOU THE SAME DAMN ANSWER.
At some point, stop asking:
“What is my Realtor doing wrong?”
And start asking:
“WHAT HAVE 30 BUYERS BEEN TRYING TO TELL ME?”
Because after 90 days, 30 showings and zero offers…
THE MARKET ISN’T WHISPERING ANYMORE.
IT’S SCREAMING AT YOU.
Are you finally ready to listen?
— Devone Richard
Written by Devone Richard
Broker/Owner | OYT Real Estate
California Broker #01857383
Nevada Broker #1002115
📞 626-500-1212 | 702-941-0202
🌐 OYTRealEstate.com