What if My House Doesn't Sell After Listing?
- Adam Garrett
- Apr 15, 2025
- 4 min read
Updated: Apr 16, 2025
Sometimes a seller will ask me before I list with them, "What if our house doesn't sell?" 23 of my last 25 listings sold, and with the 2 that didn't, both went under contract with buyers, had the home inspection contingency removed, & were situations where the reason for termination didn't have to do with me, their listing agent.
Is that typical of agents?
I went through and checked some of the top agents in the Hampton Roads area. Here's what I found out of the last 25 house sales from their listings, including withdrawn listings and expired listings, where I am not eliminating any of the examples I checked, per REIN MLS data:
Agent 1: 3 withdrawn without any pending sale
Agent 2: 2 withdrawn without any pending sale
Agent 3: 1 withdrawn without any pending sale
Agent 4: 1 withdrawn without any pending sale
I'm not sharing their names above, but the data was checked on 4/15/25.
What happened to the 2?
1 seller terminated a contract with a buyer due to an unforeseen medical circumstance after he had the right to a few days before a buyer was about to close.
In one of those two cases, the seller decided not to sell, and while the buyer could have closed in just a few days after the seller terminated, decided to retain his right to terminate the contract due to an unforseen medical circumstance where he decided not to sell. I let the seller know prior to the contract being ratified that the buyer's chances were low of them being able to close on time based on their proposed closing date in a multiple offer situation.
The 2nd seller terminated a contract with a buyer due to discovering major fraud from a former contractor that limited the properties' ability to sell.
The termite/moisture inspection of the buyer revealed that foundation work he had contracted out years ago by someone who was no longer in the state had been done improperly and where 10's of thousands of dollars would be needed to redo the job on a property where that represented a significant % of the sales price. The seller felt bad about it after all the work I put into it, offering to pay me anyway, but I refused to take a dime.
Why do some agents' listings expire or get withdrawn?
Agent Dishonesty on Pricing
One of the most common reasons why a seller won't want to use an agent after some time is if the agent gave them dishonest false hopes about pricing that they "guaranteed" and where the seller went with the agent because of these false promises rather than going with another agent who gave a more realistic view of pricing (even if they also suggested starting high). If an agent isn't then honest about the need to reduce the price, the listing is likely to expire.
Agent Character Flaw
Beyond pricing, if an agent is found to be having bad character, many sellers will want out sooner rather than later. For instance, if an agent is clearly acting on their own interests above the seller, that could easily lead to a bad feeling of the seller about the agent.
Related:
Agent Incompetence
If an agent has fine character, but what they do or say demonstrates that they don't know what they are doing or that they are in over their head, a seller may want out.
Agent Lack of Effort
Some agents are deadbeat agents, who can't do much to keep up with the volume they do, and especially sellers seeking to use a heavily discounted listing agent may withdraw a listing or let it expire in favor of listing with a full-service agent.
Seller Problems
Listing agents aren't always the ones who initiate a withdrawal of a listing. In some cases, a seller misunderstands the reasoning why a listing agent does something and the listing agent won't patiently and thoroughly explain themselves or the seller won't give the agent the time to do so.
For instance, prior to listing, I once had a seller who thought that a few questions I had about their property weren't very important, despite the fact that they were of high importance, and wouldn't give me the opportunity to explain why they were important. Another seller also gave me the axe due to not seeing the importance of the seller survey due to not having one in the past with other properties they sold, despite it being an asset where their other sales may have been better with one.
In some cases, a seller may not want a listing agent to fulfill a legal obligation that they have.
Related:
Comments