Why some sellers take their home off the market and what it means for buyers.

Delisting a home is exactly what it sounds like—a seller takes their home off the listing services where it was offered for sale. In effect, it’s no longer on market. In recent months there’s been an uptick in folks taking their homes off the market. Here’s a look at why people delist homes and how it affects buyers.

Reasons sellers take houses off the market

A primary reason home sellers delist is either because of no offers or a lack of offers near the asking price. A seller may also take a home off the market for other reasons, such as a job transfer that didn’t happen or a deal on a house they intended to buy fell through.

Some home sellers simply aren’t motivated to negotiate. They may be willing to bow out of the market because they have no urgency to move. They’re willing to wait until market conditions change in hopes of getting the price they seek.

Delisting a home due to no or low offers

Homes listed for sale that don’t receive any offers or receive offers that are significantly lower than asking price, are often priced too high.

Some sellers price their home based on sentimental feelings. Buyers, however, won’t pay a premium based on the seller’s attachment to the home. They look to market value, including what nearby comparable homes have sold for recently, when determining a home’s value.

Some delisted homes didn’t get offers because they require repairs that buyers don’t want to take on. Others, like those in some lakeshore communities, are taken off the market due to seasonal timing. For example, sellers on the lakeshore may take their homes off the market in winter and relist in the spring when there’s more buyer activity.

If you delist your home due to no or low offers, it’s worthwhile to examine the answers to these two questions:

• Is the home priced too high based on recent comparable sales?
• Are there repairs that need to be done in order to attract buyers?

What to do before relisting

Delisting gives a home seller time to regroup. If they’ve been trying “for sale by owner” it might be time to enlist a real estate agent. If feedback from perspective buyers centered around a particular issue, either fix it or price the property to account for the work needed.

If you wait 90 days to relist the home, it will appear on the listing services as a new listing which naturally generates interest among buyers.

What delisting means for home buyers

Delisting means an already tight housing supply gets even tighter, as fewer homes are available for sale.

If buyers were interested in a home that gets delisted, they should continue their search. There’s no guarantee that a delisted home will go back on the market.

The increase in delistings is happening in tandem with homes spending longer on the market. In June, time on market was 53 days, five more than a year prior. Home sellers who must move may be more willing to negotiate a lower price in this environment. In fact, in June the price was cut on one in five listings.

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