When to Adjust Your House Listing: What to Do if Your Home Isn’t Selling
Listing your home for sale is an exciting and often emotional step. You’ve cleaned, staged, maybe even repainted or landscaped. You’ve worked with an agent to set a price and put your house on the market, hoping for a quick sale. But days turn into weeks, and despite a few showings, no offers are coming in. What now?
If your house isn’t selling, you’re not alone. Many homeowners experience delays in selling, even in healthy markets. The key is knowing when to make adjustments—and what to adjust.
The 2-3 Week Rule: A Crucial Benchmark
Most real estate experts agree: if your home has been listed for two to three weeks without serious interest or offers, it’s time to reevaluate. This timeline might feel short, but in today’s digital-driven real estate world, buyers move quickly. A listing gets its highest visibility in the first few days. If buyers are skipping your home or touring it without making offers, they’re sending a clear message.
A second helpful rule of thumb is the 10-showing guideline. If 10 potential buyers have toured your home and none have made an offer, that’s another strong sign that something is off—usually the price.
Why Isn’t My House Selling?
Before making changes, it’s important to diagnose the issue. The problem typically falls into one (or more) of these five categories:
- Pricing
This is the most common culprit. Even if your home is beautiful and in a great neighborhood, buyers won’t bite if they believe it’s overpriced. Buyers are comparison shoppers—they’ll compare your home to others in the same price range. If yours doesn’t offer the same value, they’ll move on.
A simple price drop can often trigger new interest. But before slashing your price, talk with your agent about doing a Comparative Market Analysis (CMA) to evaluate what similar homes in your area have recently sold for.
✅ Kentucky Tom Pro Tip: If you’re a buyer, don’t be afraid to make an offer that’s under the asking price. Most buyers don’t do this, which puts you at an advantage if you’re willing to negotiate. Remember: the worst thing that can happen is that your offer is rejected. But more often, the seller will make a counter offer.
✅ Kentucky Tom Pro Tip: If you’re a buyer, while price reduction is the go-to response from most real estate agents, the question for you to ask your agent, as in all other industries: what are the personas for the identified target market and what are you doing to reach them. If they can’t answer this question or don’t understand it, it may be time to work with another agent.
- Presentation
First impressions matter, especially in real estate. If your home doesn’t show well—either in person or online—it won’t attract serious buyers.
Ask yourself:
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- Are the listing photos professional and well-lit?
- Is the home clean, decluttered, and neutral enough to appeal to a wide range of buyers?
- Are there odors, outdated fixtures, or worn-out carpets that turn people off?
Sometimes, a deep clean, a fresh coat of paint, or professional staging can make a big difference.
✅ Kentucky Tom Pro Tip: Ask your agent about virtual staging because the goal of photographs and staging (real or virtual) is to help a potential buyers imagine themselves living in the home—not feel like they’re visiting yours.
- Marketing
Is your listing getting the exposure it needs? Your agent should be promoting your property across multiple platforms—MLS, Zillow, Redfin, Realtor.com, social media, and possibly local advertising.
If your listing photos or description are weak, buyers might not even make it through the first click. Consider updating the listing with a stronger narrative and higher-quality visuals that highlight the home’s best features.
- Accessibility
If your home is difficult to schedule for showings—maybe it’s only available at certain times or requires too much advance notice—it can limit the number of potential buyers who view it. Make your home as easy to show as possible. The more eyes on it, the more likely you’ll find the right buyer.
- Market Conditions
Sometimes, external factors slow down the sale of a home. Rising mortgage rates, seasonal slumps, or economic uncertainty can all reduce buyer demand. In this case, patience might be necessary—but combining patience with a proactive marketing or pricing strategy is often the best course.
Smart Adjustments You Can Make
Once you’ve pinpointed what’s holding your home back, it’s time to act. Here are the most effective adjustments to consider:
Price Adjustment
If your home is priced even 3-5% too high, it can sit idle. A strategic price reduction can revive interest, especially if your home has been sitting on the market and is now seen as “stale.” Dropping the price often places your home in a new search bracket, making it visible to a different set of buyers.
Update Photos and Listing Description
If your listing isn’t getting attention online, the issue may lie in how it’s presented. Replace outdated or poorly lit photos. Revise the description to better highlight the home’s features and tell a more compelling story. A refreshed listing often gets another bump in visibility on real estate platforms.
Stage the Home Differently
If buyers have toured but haven’t made offers, how your home feels in person may be the issue. Consider:
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- Removing excess furniture
- Painting rooms in light, neutral colors
- Adding fresh flowers or cozy throws to soften the space
You want buyers to imagine themselves living in the home—not feel like they’re visiting yours.
Expand Marketing
Talk with your agent about new ways to reach buyers:
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- Create video walkthroughs
- Post reels or tours on social media
- Hold an open house weekend or virtual tour
✅ Kentucky Tom Pro Tip: The value of open houses for the general public has little value. The type of open house that is a better investment of time and resources is for your agent to hold an open house for buyer agents.
Fresh marketing can bring in buyers who missed the home the first time around.
Don’t Take It Personally—But Do Take Action
It’s easy to feel discouraged when your home doesn’t sell as quickly as you’d hoped. Try not to take it personally. The home selling process is a mix of logic, emotion, and timing. A lack of offers doesn’t mean your home isn’t valuable. It simply means the right buyer hasn’t connected with it yet—or that a few small tweaks could help them do so.
For Your Consideration
A home that sits on the market too long can become harder to sell over time. Buyers begin to wonder what’s wrong with it. That’s why it’s critical to monitor feedback, review performance weekly with your agent, and be willing to adapt your strategy quickly.
The first few weeks are your best window to make an impression. If your home isn’t selling, act fast, stay flexible, and be open to change. With the right adjustments, the right buyer will come through your door.
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