Your Northwest Indiana Neighbor’s House Isn’t Selling. Here’s Why.

Presidents Trump, Bush, and Clinton all turned 80 this year. Your neighbor’s attempted home sale did, too.

Though our current and past Presidents celebrated their 80th year on the pale blue dot, I noticed something interesting about the Northwest Indiana housing market here in the first days of November: Homes currently listed for sale had spent an average of 80 days on the market. What’s the deal with that?

Well, despite yours truly being among the best real estate agents in The Region, it doesn’t take a real estate hound like myself to tell you why: elections, seasonality, interest rates, money money money, and our meager 9 hours of daylight. But, that’s all repeated nonsense—it’s a part of the story, but not THE story.

The real problem? Sellers are asking buyers to pay for value that buyers simply aren’t seeing.

Some sellers are stubborn. Some have opulent delusions of grandeur about what they own. Others are financially constrained. And, some sellers have been given overly optimistic pricing advice by their agents who just wanted the listing.

Here’s the interesting part: Homes that actually closed last month spent an average of just 38 days on the market. Meanwhile, the homes still waiting for buyers have been sitting for an average of 80 days. The houses finding buyers and the houses still searching for them are telling two very different stories.

These figures don’t mean the average Northwest Indiana home takes 80 days to sell. They mean the homes still on the market have already been listed for an average of 80 days.

Home sellers do not understand how many of today’s homebuyers purchase a home. Come back in time with me. We’re going to 1978.

Donald’s oven breaks. It’s done for. So, he gets his son Don Jr. and tells him, “Get in the truck. We’re getting a new oven.” Don and Don Jr. head down to George’s Appliance Store on a Saturday morning.

It’s a busy early November morning at George’s appliance store. George, the owner, is there working the store. Donald is looking at that oven-range all-in-one with the light inside, four burners, in golden rod yellow. The price is $289.00.

George tap dances his way over to Donald and Don Jr. and says, “Donald, you came in here earlier in the week twice looking at that model and I’m glad to have you back this morning, but now it’s time to show. Let’s get it wrapped up for you.

Donald hesitates. And, Don Jr. watches on.

Donald says, “George, it’s too much. Here, how about this, how about I give you $265.00 and you don’t even need to deliver it? My boy and I will put it on our truck ourselves.” George looks at the floor. He looks at the ceiling. He looks at his slip of paper of what he has sold already for the day. He wants a longer sold list.

With a thunderous clap of his hands George says, “That’s a deal! Get it off my floor.”

Today, when mom or dad needs a new oven, they don’t go to George’s Appliance Store. They go to Home Depot or Lowe’s. The owner isn’t there on a Saturday. There’s no haggling. And the kids, today, and for the last 30 some odd years, haven’t seen mom or dad negotiate.

Here’s what I’ve noticed working with today’s homebuyers: A lot of them aren’t comfortable negotiating. Rather than making an offer on a house they think is overpriced, they’ll wait. They’ll watch. And they’ll come back when the seller finally lowers the price.

Home sellers, go find the market and get it sold. Stop counting money you do not have. Your home isn’t worth the fantastical price that you think it is. Instead make the choice:

• Either improve your home to make it more attractive,
• Improve your marketing to better communicate your home’s worth, or
• Correct your price to better align to homebuyers’ expectations.

It isn’t 2022, and the interest rates are still hovering around 7% despite a slight reprieve earlier this month.

Elections, seasonality, and certainly mortgage rates affect homebuyer activity. But when your neighbor’s house isn’t selling, the problem might be a whole lot simpler: The price doesn’t match what buyers see. It wasn’t November 80 days ago. The sun wasn’t setting at 4:30 PM either. Your neighbor’s house wasn’t selling then, and it still isn’t selling. Now winter is coming.

Thinking about selling a house in Northwest Indiana? Let’s talk about what buyers will actually pay for it, how to make your home stand out, and how my full-service, low-commission listing services can help you keep more of your proceeds.

About Me: My name is Chuck Vander Stelt. I am a real estate agent based in Valparaiso who serves most of the Northwest Indiana area. I have participated in over 450 real estate transactions. My offering is simple: provide the absolute best home selling or buying experience at the lowest possible cost to the client. Call me, I love to talk with people: (219) 309-6098. Or you can fill out this form.