10 home-sale marketing mistakes

The couple next door has listed their home with a local agent. They've been on the market for 90 days and haven't sold.

The question is: What's keeping their house from selling?

When a property comes on the market right next door to yours, most owners are watching to see how much their neighbors will get for their house. More important, potential sellers are watching to see whether the "Sold" sign pops up quickly or if the property will sit on the market for months.

Needless to say, when our neighbors listed their home, I was curious to see what type of marketing their listing agent did. Unfortunately for my neighbors, she has provided the standard package of services most agents in this area provide. In a market where the competition is fierce, this simply isn't enough.

What the listing agent did right 

1. Excellent staging and high-quality photos
In addition to placing the listing on the MLS and Realtor.com, the listing agent hired a professional photographer to take high-quality pictures of the property. Since the property is only two years old and shows like a model, this makes perfect sense. Also, the research shows that having a minimum of 20 pictures will provide the most page views.

2. Brochure box stays full

The agent has a brochure box that she keeps full. She held a broker's open house that was well attended by her office. She also had two Sunday open houses that generated good traffic.

3. Listing syndication to several major listing portals
The listing has been viewed 72 times on Trulia as well as appearing on FrontDoor.com and Realtor.com.What the listing agent hasn't done

2. No marketing to neighbors
3. Agent didn't check the listing on Realtor.com for accuracy
4. No way to obtain caller contact information
5. No outreach to this subdivision's most likely buyers
6. No target marketing
7. No use of video
8. No single-property website
9. No lead-capture tool on the main listing page
10. No comprehensive tracking of leads