House on market - How long until showings?

[Gwenny]

Our house just went on the market Thursday night, and I'm starting to worry that we aren't getting enough showings.  I realize that the listing takes a little time to show up on all the websites, but I feel like we should've had more than the 1 showing we had today.  Our realtor had told us that we should expect a lot of traffic today and tomorrow, but nothing is scheduled for tomorrow and we just had 1 showing today. 

 

The pictures were done by a professional, and look good.  We rented a storage unit and stored more than half of everything we own.  We have fresh paint, new carpet, new roof, new gutters, new light fixtures, an updated kitchen and bathroom, and it's super clean.  Yard is neat and full of flowers. 

 

I think the main deterrent is that we have only 1 bathroom in a 3 bedroom, 1250 sq. ft home.  I don't think anyone searching online would ever put down that they want only 1 bathroom in the search criteria.  Do you think that might be preventing people from even seeing my home when they search?  Since there is no way to add a second bath, I don't know what to do.

 

Or is it possible that I'm just starting to worry about too early in the game.

 

I hear about people getting offers within days of listing.  I can't even get someone in to look and I've put SO much effort into making it look nice.  If this drags on, I may lose my sanity. Especially if I'm this antsy after a couple of days.

 

[Crimson Wife]

If you priced it right, being small and only having 1 bathroom shouldn't be a deterrent. I checked the sale records on Redfin for my town and I see a bunch in that size range that went pending within a week or two of the listing date. If you don't get more interest in the next 2 weeks, I'd be concerned that the agent didn't price it correctly.

[Ottakee]

Is your house priced reasonably for the market/area?

 

have you looked at the ad on line at the various sites?  Is it accurate?  Do the pictures look good and in a good order?  Did you highlight the special things about your home?

[MeghanL]

If you placed the ad Thursday night...and today is Saturday....I think 1 showing in that time is awesome!!

I would wait to be worried until after next weekend. People have barely had 1 day to even find you.

[Guest]

A lot of the answer depends on your locale.  In our area, things are (or have been) so hot that I would be worried, too.  But in my friends' neck of the woods, the same is not true.  Their house took a few weeks to gather steam re: showings and so on.  However, it did sell within 2 months.  It doesn't take a lot of showings; it takes ONE buyer.  :0)  Anyway, my point is that you can't gather your market intelligence from these boards; we are too geographically diverse to give a focused idea of what you should expect in your locale.  

 

Good luck though!  It sounds like you have done all the right things.  

 

 

[candicane]

First, relax. :) One viewing in that short of time is a really good thing!

 

We've only had 6-7 viewings, and we've had our house listed for sale for over a month now. Our house is 4 bedrooms, 1 Den, 2 1/5 baths with a pool. We've already knocked down the price twice, it's now at 325,000.

 

It sounds like you are doing everything right. Declutter, make sure your house smells nice, no personal objects (photos, etc). Honestly, it takes time, especially in today's market. It's not very realistic to get an offer within days of listing.

Check if your house is up on a site called zillow.com (if it isn't ask for it to be ((that site is one TONS of people use)).

[gingersmom]

I think it all depends on your location. Are you in a desirable area? Is your house in a good neighborhood? 

 

And of course most importantly price. 

 

One bathroom could definitely deter people from looking. Is there room to add another bath?

 

Did your realtor have a realtors open house?

[Gwenny]

Thanks!  I guess I may be panicking a little too soon.  I really think it's priced right.  2 houses in my neighborhood have sold for the same price recently and mine has a few more updates and a detached garage.  When I checked just a few minutes ago, my house is on Zillow and it's listed as a "featured" home on the websites that do that.

 

Looks like I need to ask my realtor about when he plans to do a realtors open house. 

[Pawz4me]

If I had just listed a house on Thursday I wouldn't have expected any showings before (maybe) next weekend.  I'd be thrilled to already have had one!

 

For the homes we've sold in the past, our realtor held an open house a couple of weeks or so after the listing was posted.  Both houses sold within six weeks.

[KungFuPanda]

One bathroom seems reasonable for a house that size.

[Mommyof4ks]

It does not take many showings, just showing the one right person. :) Our previous house had only 4 showings over the month it was on the market, but the 3rd couple bought it for full asking.

[sbgrace]

One bathroom seems reasonable for a house that size.

 

I agree.

 

I also agree with re-evaluating pricing strategy if you don't see things pick up in the next couple of weeks. I think it's too early to panic.

[gardenmom5]

A lot of the answer depends on your locale.  In our area, things are (or have been) so hot that I would be worried, too.  But in my friends' neck of the woods, the same is not true.  Their house took a few weeks to gather steam re: showings and so on.  However, it did sell within 2 months.  It doesn't take a lot of showings; it takes ONE buyer.  :0)  Anyway, my point is that you can't gather your market intelligence from these boards; we are too geographically diverse to give a focused idea of what you should expect in your locale.  

 

Good luck though!  It sounds like you have done all the right things.  

 

yeah - we're in the same area.  things are so hot, I got a phone call from a real estate agent this week wanting to know if I had plans to sell my house . . . . . . ('cause inventory is so next-to-none.)

it's even worse now than when 1dd started house hunting last fall. (and it was a seller's market then.)

[Word Nerd]

If you placed the ad Thursday night...and today is Saturday....I think 1 showing in that time is awesome!!

I would wait to be worried until after next weekend. People have barely had 1 day to even find you.

It's also graduation weekend in many places.

[Susan in TN]

It can be tough, but it is a busy time of year.  Our house was on the market for 3 full months before we had a single showing.  Then something in the market hit (actually, it was the new year) and we suddenly had several showings every week for the next 3 months.  Little did we know that the eventual buyer was just slow to make decisions and had come to see the house 5 times!  We were not in a rush to sell exactly, but we had found the new house we wanted and were nervous it would sell before we could make an offer.  Everything worked out perfectly in the end. 

[magnificent_baby]

I think it's way too early to be worried about only one showing. If it was on the market for a few weeks with only one showing, then I'd start to get concerned. Just keep it picked up at all times for last minute showings (I'm sure you know this). Offers within days is very unusual in my area, so I would try to be patient. Good luck!! 

[QueenCat]

When selling houses, our showings always picked up once the realtor open house was conducted.

[TranquilMind]

I think it all depends on your location. Are you in a desirable area? Is your house in a good neighborhood? 

 

And of course most importantly price. 

 

One bathroom could definitely deter people from looking. Is there room to add another bath?

 

Did your realtor have a realtors open house?

I've been a landlord and renovator for 20 years.

 

One bath is going to be a VERY hard sell. The house should be HGTV ready and renovated, or the price needs to be low for the area. 

 

That's just the way it is.  Is there anywhere you could carve out space for a bath, so at least you could share with buyers that another bath could go in this space?

[Gwenny]

After moping around feeling like my house would never sell, we did have another showing this evening.  Another couple sat out front for 5 minutes and took pictures with their phones.

 

TranquilMind, there really isn't a sensible place for another bathroom.  The house is a simple rectangle and taking any space from a bedroom would make them tiny.  One neighbor with the same house did put a toilet in the utility room, but it looked really out of place sitting beside the water heater, washer/dryer, and heat/AC unit.  The houses in my neighborhood were built around 1960 and 1 bathroom must of been the norm for back then. 

 

I'm hoping the large yards in my neighborhood will help sell it.  In our area, if you want a 3 bedroom house for our $169,000 asking price, your only options are a condo, townhouse, or something in an older neighborhood like mine.  I need a single man who needs a nice sized yard for his dog.  I don't know anyone else that would only want 1 bathroom. 

[Catwoman]

If one bath homes are the norm in your particular neighborhood, pretty much anyone who wants to live there is already going to know it, so it may not be as big a deal as some may think.

 

We have an older neighborhood in our area, and everyone knows most of those houses have only one bathroom, but the houses still sell, because the school system is excellent and the neighborhood has large, beautifully-maintained yards.

 

Sure, having only one bathroom may limit your market, but the fact that the house is on the small side would pretty much eliminate most large families anyway, so it may turn out to be a non-issue for many potential buyers.