It's Worth Repeating. By Dan Polimino.

As you know, I have sold luxury homes for some time now and I frequently get calls from frustrated sellers who are having a tough time selling their property. I understand their frustration; it's not been easy for the Realtors either over the last three to four years. Most people start off the conversation with the same question, which is, "Why can't we even get an offer on our home?" The answer is one that I have written about many times before, but I think it is worth repeating. People like to make the real estate business really complicated, but the truth is, it boils down to just four main reasons why your home may not be selling. Here they are again in order of priority:

* Did you price it right? All a realtor can do is present the data. It's your home, and you make the decision on how quickly you want to sell the home. If you ignore good data and price it high, the home will sit, sit, and sit. When you decide to price it right, the home will sell, but the decision is entirely up to you. Don't get caught in hopa, hopa land. Hoping that someone will magically come off the street and over pay for your home.
* Does the home show well? If it does show well then cross this off the list. If you are not sure, ask your agent. If you want an outsider’s point of view, have a friend walk through your home with a critical eye giving you feedback or hire a stager.
* Do you have great marketing? This is easier than you think. You are smart people and through the process of interviewing agents, you will know great marketing when you see it.
* Location, location, location. It's the first and most important rule of real estate. If you have a bad location or a challenging location, you may have a hard time selling that home. The only thing that you can do to combat a tough location is to price the home well below market value. You have to make the price so appealing that a buyer would ignore the location because the price is so darn good.

Finally, if you don't get all of the above absolutely spot on, then you will have a miserable time attracting offers. Remember that the goal is to sell it as quickly as possible for the highest price. That means getting these four points CORRECT right out of the gate.

Dan Polimino is an Owner/Broker with Keller Williams Realty DTC. He can be reached at dan@coloradodreamhouse.com and www.coloradodreamhouse.com/denverpost