What to Do If Your Home Sits on the Market for a Long Time, According to Real Estate Pros (2024)

Selling a home is a stressful, often lengthy process, but at what point in your journey should you worry that things aren’t moving quickly enough?As of May 2023, the median home sells in about five weeks, or 43 days, according to the National Association of Realtors, though it’s worth noting that median time on market changes seasonally: In January 2023, median time on market was 72 days, or more than two months.

That number is a median that changes daily and varies widely based on where you live, as well as the current market conditions and the particulars of your home, but it’s a good indicator of how quickly (or slowly) many homes sell.

“The average time a home sits on the market is highly dependent on multiple variables, such as the area the home is in, the style, the size, the condition, and the amenities. The current market can differ from city to city and even block to block,” says Andrew Pasquella, a Realtor at Sotheby’s International Realty.

Here, experts offer insight into the length of the home-selling process and how you might be able to speed things up.

The Factors at Play in Time on Market

There are tons of factors at play when it comes to the length of time it will take to sell your home, and many of these factors are out of your control.

To begin, there’s the current state of the housing market, both nationally and in your area.

Selling in a buyer’s market usually means inventory is high and sellers are in competition with each other to get in front of the eyes of a potential buyer.If you’re selling in a seller’s market, that means inventory is low and you should have multiple buyers interested in your property. A competitive seller’s market like the one we saw in 2020 and 2021 often means a seller can expect multiple offers above asking price for their home quickly.

The time of year when you choose to sell is also a factor. It is well known that it’s easier to sell a home in summer, for instance, than winter. Similarly, the spring market is busier than the fall market.

Finally, the particulars of your home will be perhaps the biggest factor in determining how quickly your property sells. You might own a mansion in a seller’s market, but if your home is outdated and has a major mold problem, that could potentially deter buyers and slow the process for you. Similarly, if your home is overpriced or your listing photos fail to showcase your home in the best light, you could spend more time waiting for the right buyer to come through for a tour.

Speeding the Process Up

If you’ve done your research and you think you’ve been patient enough, it might be time to talk about strategy.

“I think it is important to evaluate where a listing is positioned on the market every 14 days and take action—either with changes to the home or changes to the pricing,” says Misty Soldwisch, broker/owner of BHGRE Innovations in Indianola, Iowa.

Here are a few things you can do to help speed up the sale of your home.

Get on the same page with your real estate agent.

If you’re frustrated with the timeline of your sale, chat with your real estate agent. Agents want what is best for you and the sale of your home, and having open communication about any frustrations will be key.

“The first thing a seller should do is align expectations with their agent. An agent should help set realistic expectations so the seller doesn’t draw their own conclusions on what ‘too long’ really means,” Pasquella says. “A Realtor will tell a seller what the average days on the market looks like for your area and adjust that average depending on other variables of your house, much like when creating a comparable market analysis for pricing the home.”

Once you have a good baseline of communication with your agent, you can start to look at some fixes.

“When the days on market start stretching beyond what was initially discussed between seller and agent, then it’s fair for the seller and agent, working in partnership, to start asking questions about why the home may be sitting longer,” Pasquella says.

Gina Purdy, a Realtor with Baird & Warner serving the northwest side of Chicago, recommends previewing your listing to other agents whose buyers might like the idea of getting a sneak peek at a property before it goes live.

“One strategy selling agents can employ to cut down on market time is to first list the home on the private network before going public,” she says.

Dig into the numbers.

You might feel your listing is languishing on the market, but it can help to get realistic about your home sale by looking at the numbers in greater detail, Pasquella says.

“Number of showings, calls, texts, emails, and open house attendance are all signs of how the listing is going, but not the only ones,” he says. “An agent should also be diving deeper into the analytics from the MLS and the sites that have syndicated the listing, like Zillow—how many views and clicks.”

If you’re getting lots of requests for showing and lots of interest, you could be in a good position. But if those numbers feel low, you might need to do some more diagnostics.

“It is also important to review what homes have gone under contract during that time,” Soldwisch says. “Are these people that viewed your home and chose a different option?How does that home compare?”

Pasquella says you can also look at how feedback has been on social media and whether other agents are sharing the listing on Facebook and other platforms. You can also see whether the listing has been shown in local press outlets that feature homes sales, and get some stats on traffic to a property’s site if it has one.

Improve your listing.

If you decide to go forward with major changes, you can start by looking at your current listing. Maybe you can rewrite the home description to highlight key features you left out before. Think fire pits, beautiful trees, or landscaping on your property, new appliances or home systems, and local amenities in the area.

If that’s not enough, you might consider having new listing photos taken. This can be helpful if weeks have passed, the last winter snow has melted, and you’re in a new season where outdoor photos might make sense to update. It’s also a good idea if you plan to mention features you left out before. If you took your own listing photos to start, getting professional pictures is an easy and relatively affordable way to change your listing up.

If you do have new photos taken, be sure to focus on decluttering, and then getting the best angles and lighting of each room.

Spruce up your home.

If you haven’t already staged your home, you might consider hiring a professional for some advice before shooting new listing photos. A home stager can suggest how to arrange your current furniture to accentuate your home’s positive features. They might also go above and beyond to bring in rented furniture and art for the space.

“A professional stager can bring a different eye to the space by moving things around or bringing in new furniture to help the property show its best. I don’t typically hire stagers unless a vacant higher-end property requires furniture for buyers to visualize the space,” Purdy says.

You can also look into light landscaping around your home. Consider fresh mulch and flowers, or even a new door color to improve curb appeal.

“Short of hiring a professional stager, an agent should work with the seller to pare down on unnecessary items and clutter when the home is being photographed and shown,” Purdy says.

Make repairs.

If you’ve gotten consistent feedback from potential buyers about the state of your roof or the age of your home’s appliances, you might want to consider addressing those concerns before the next buyer comes through.

Some sellers will offer a credit at closing to go toward major repairs for the home. That can offer a buyer peace of mind while purchasing.You can also look into buying new appliances or replacing an old well or HVAC system if it’s something that multiple buyers have expressed concern about.

If you don’t want to go to the lengths of addressing problems that have also arisen in buyers’ inspections, you might have to consider lowering your price.

If you’ve gotten lots of feedback about that purple paint color in the bedroom or complaints about all the junk in your basem*nt that makes it hard to see the space, those are quick fixes you can make to impress the next buyer.

Lower your price.

Perhaps the most effective strategy in selling your home quickly is lowering the price. Knocking a few thousand dollars off your sale price signals to buyers that you’re a motivated seller who is willing to negotiate and looking to sell quickly.

“Price adjustments can do the trick—lowering the price to create an event around the new price can even yield multiple offers that could reach or exceed the original price,” Pasquella says.

It’s also a good way to get your property to rank higher in searches on sites such as Zillow, where changes to older listings can propel you to the top of the list, getting more eyes on your property.

“In my experience, the number one reason a home sits on the market for a long time is the asking price is too high,” says Purdy. “There are sometimes exceptional factors, such as things you can’t change—like a home’s location or layout—but it’s usually always down to pricing. I recommend sellers listen to their realtor and trust their advice to price a home correctly the first time.”

You might also consider accepting different types of loans. If you’ve been hoping for a cash offer or conventional loan, you might consider those with funding through an FHA or VA loan. While these loans usually have more stipulations in place for the buyer, they can open your options in terms of a pool of interested shoppers.

Relist your property.

Sometimes there’s enough work to do on your property that it makes sense to take it off the market for a time before entertaining more showings.

“Relisting your property can bring fresh attention to your property, and a good Realtor will know how to execute that strategy and work with a seller to maximize that effort,” Pasquella says.

Typically, a property will be relisted when major work has been done or there are new listing photos and—namely—a new price.

“A word of caution when relisting—if the seller is relisting with the same marketing and the same price, it likely won’t draw a large impact,” Pasquella says.

If you’re worried that relisting your property might signal there’s a problem with the home, don’t be, Pasquella says.

“There are many reasons why a seller might take it off the market that could have nothing to do with the actual property,” Pasquella says. “Maybe there is a personal matter at play. Maybe they just changed their mind. It’s important for buyers not to jump to conclusions about why a listing is being taken off the market and relisted.”

A buyer’s agent can also easily call a seller’s agent to find out why a home was relisted before ruling it out.

Cut ties with your agent.

You might find that you’ve exhausted your options when it comes to selling your home and that could mean you’ve lost faith in your agent. A last-ditch effort might be to look for a new agent with fresh ideas on how to sell your home.

“If your agent isn’t good at interpreting the market and giving you insight, or if your agent is not giving you regular communication and assistance, your agent might not be the right one for you,” Soldwisch says.

You’ll want to look into any paperwork you’ve signed binding you to that agent before making a decision.But before you make that call, try having an open dialogue about the sale’s stagnation.

“Sellers and agents need to work in partnership toward the same goal,” Pasquella says. “The biggest piece of advice is for the seller and agent to be in constant communication. Some calls may feel like therapy sessions, but that’s okay, we’re all in this together.”