🏠Why Your Home Didn’t Sell

(And What You Can Still Do About It)

Vanessa Saunders

Oct 31, 2025

The number of homes that aren’t selling is starting to add up, a sure sign the market is shifting.

So I decided to dig into the “Why didn’t it sell?” question that so many sellers are asking themselves.

And while there are plenty of complicated theories out there, let’s start with the most obvious one.

Greed.

Not because sellers are bad people, but because everyone got hooked on the idea that 2021 prices were the new normal. They weren’t.

The truth is, the market isn’t crashing. It’s just correcting — like a kid coming down off a sugar high.

“It’s not a crash. It’s a correction. And the only thing falling faster than prices is patience.”

Let’s take a real example.

A home listed at $893,000 looks fine until you run the numbers. At a 7.3% interest rate, even with 20% down, here’s what buyers see: The Math Buyers Are Doing (and You Should Too)

ExpenseMonthly CostMortgage (Principal & Interest)$4,898Taxes$990Insurance$100HOA (according to MLS — covers plowing only)$200Total Monthly Payment≈ $6,188

Drop the down payment to 10%, and that monthly total jumps to over $7,000 once PMI (Private Mortgage Insurance) is added.

Then layer in closing costs and commissions, and you begin to see the problem.
Buyers aren’t comparing homes anymore. They’re comparing payments.

“Buyers don’t buy price tags. They buy monthly payments.”

What Sellers Get Wrong

Most sellers price their homes based on what they want, not what the market can absorb.

And more fool the agent who nods along, hoping you’ll come to your senses later and drop the price after the listing has gone stale.
By then, it’s not a price adjustment. It’s damage control.
(Note to Realtors: That’s not business. It’s desperation.)

Overpricing isn’t a strategy. It’s a stall.

Buyers can sense hesitation, and hesitation kills offers.

When they see inflated prices, vague HOA descriptions, and listing copy that reads like a love letter to 2021, they move on.
Not because your home isn’t lovely, but because it no longer fits the math.

The home you thought was “worth it” in May?
It’s sitting unsold in November because the cost of money changed and nobody adjusted.

“At $893,000 this wasn’t an overpriced home. It was an overpriced assumption.”

The Season of Serious Buyers

Here’s the irony. The so-called slow season is actually when the serious buyers show up.

Not the tire-kickers. Not the “maybe next spring” browsers.
The real ones who have to move.

They’re motivated, watching the market, and waiting for sellers who’ve stopped believing they can outsmart interest rates.

If your home is sitting unsold, this is your moment.
Fix the price, refresh the story, and catch the buyers who are still out there while everyone else is in holiday mode.

What You Can Do

Get an Honest Price Review

Ask a Certified Pricing Strategy Advisor to show you exactly where your home sits in today’s market, not last year’s fantasy.
Lucky for you, I know one rather well.

Reframe the Narrative

Sometimes it’s not the price. It’s the presentation. Take a good look at that. Get a professional’s opinion.
But this time, the numbers are the story.
Ask that Certified Pricing Strategy Advisor you know to tell you if your last listing was make-believe — since your former agent clearly didn’t get the plot.

Price Strategically for the Season

Winter buyers are fewer but stronger.
A well-priced home now can sell faster and for more than one chasing the spring crowd.

“Winter is when the serious buyers come out. The question is, will your home still be waiting for them?”

And before you decide to “wait until next year,” ask yourself one question: what are your carrying costs?

Even if you were handed this property on a silver platter, it’s still costing you every single day it belongs to you — taxes, utilities, insurance, maintenance, maybe even mortgage interest.

So what have you got to lose? Other than another few thousand dollars while you wait for a mythical “better market.”

Unless your home is on an island, keep it listed. Take a hard look at the price and do the math.

The Bottom Line

Homes don’t fail to sell because they’re bad. They fail because the market moved and the seller didn’t.

Ready to price for reality and get it sold?
📩 Email me at vanessa@TradeNHomes.com to schedule your pricing review today.