If the home is not generating showings (fewer than 2 to 3 per week in the first two weeks), buyers are screening it out online before they even visit. This means the price is too high relative to what they see in the photos. Buyers compare your listing to every other listing in the same price range. If comparable homes offer more for the same money, buyers skip yours. Low showings is the clearest signal that the price needs to come down.

If buyers are coming through but not making offers, they are interested at the price point but something about the home in person is not matching their expectations. Common reasons: the home shows poorly (cluttered, dated, not staged), the condition is worse than the photos suggested, the layout does not work for them, or the home does not compare favourably to others they have seen.

The fix is in the showing feedback. Every buyer's agent provides feedback after a showing. I collect and analyze this feedback to identify the pattern. If multiple buyers mention the same issue (dated kitchen, dark basement, small primary bedroom), that is the issue to address. My staging guide covers how to transform the presentation.

If the listing is not generating online views and clicks, the marketing is not reaching buyers. This could be poor listing photos (the single biggest factor in online engagement), weak listing copy that does not highlight the home's strengths, inadequate digital advertising or a listing that is buried in search results because of how it is categorized. I track online engagement metrics on every listing and adjust the marketing strategy in real time when the numbers are not performing.

An overpriced home with poor staging and mediocre photos listed with minimal marketing is fighting on every front. The solution requires addressing all three simultaneously: reprice based on current comparable data, invest in professional staging and photography and launch a fresh marketing campaign. Fixing one of the three while ignoring the others will not produce a different result.

What you paid for the home, what you spent on renovations, what your neighbour sold for two years ago and what you need to net after the sale are all irrelevant to the market. The market price is determined by what comparable homes are selling for right now. If the comparable data says your home is worth $1,400,000 and you are listed at $1,550,000, no amount of marketing will produce a buyer at $1,550,000. The price must reflect the current market, not your expectations.

Reducing the price by $10,000 or $20,000 on a $1,500,000 listing does not change buyer behaviour. It signals desperation without changing the competitive position. If the home is overpriced by $100,000, a $20,000 reduction still leaves it $80,000 above market. Effective price corrections are meaningful: large enough to move the listing into a new buyer search bracket and large enough to change the competitive landscape. I advise sellers on the exact number needed to reposition the home, even when it is uncomfortable to hear.

Every day on market reduces your negotiating power. Buyers see high DOM (days on market) as a sign that the home is overpriced or has problems. After 30 days, buyers assume they can offer below asking. After 60 days, they assume something is wrong. After 90 days, the listing becomes stale and agents stop showing it. The longer you wait to correct the price, the less you will ultimately receive. The best time to correct is early, before the stigma of high DOM takes hold.

Generic descriptions like "spacious home in desirable neighbourhood" and "must see" do nothing to differentiate your listing. The copy should highlight the specific features buyers search for: lot dimensions, school catchment, proximity to transit, recent upgrades (with years), room sizes and lifestyle benefits. I write listing copy that ranks in MLS search results and converts browsers into showing requests. Specific, accurate descriptions sell. Vague adjectives do not.

If the original listing relied solely on MLS exposure and the occasional social media post, the reach was limited. A proper digital campaign targets buyers by geography, search behaviour, demographics and interests. It serves professional photos and video directly to people who are actively searching for homes in your price range and neighbourhood. I run paid campaigns on social platforms and search engines for every listing and track engagement metrics to optimize performance throughout the listing period.

A professional video walkthrough gives buyers a sense of the home's flow, room sizes and natural light that static photos cannot convey. Virtual tours allow buyers to explore the home at their own pace before booking a showing. Both increase engagement, attract out-of-town buyers and generate more qualified showings. If the original listing did not include video or a virtual tour, adding these for the re-listing gives the home a fresh presence online.

If the listing has expired or you are terminating it, the DOM counter resets when you re-list with a new MLS number. This is important because it removes the "stale listing" stigma. The home appears as a new listing in buyer searches, which generates a fresh wave of attention. Simply reducing the price on an existing listing does not produce the same effect as a fresh listing with a new price, new photos, new marketing and a reset DOM counter.

Do not re-list until every identified issue is addressed. If the price needs correcting, correct it fully (not incrementally). If the home needs staging, stage it completely. If the photos need replacing, reshoot everything. If the marketing plan needs upgrading, build the full campaign before listing day. Re-listing with only partial changes produces the same partial result. The second attempt must be materially different from the first.

The re-listing should feel like a debut, not a retry. New MLS number, new photos, new listing copy, fresh digital campaigns, agent networking notifications and a "coming soon" strategy before the public launch. The goal is to generate the same level of attention and urgency that a new listing receives on day one. Buyers who screened out the original listing at a higher price will now see a completely refreshed listing at a competitive price and give it serious consideration.

Switch agents if your current agent overpriced the home to win the listing and is now asking you to reduce, if they did not provide professional staging and photography, if their marketing consisted of only an MLS listing with no additional strategy, if they are not communicating regularly with showing feedback and market updates, or if they do not have a clear plan for what changes are needed. An agent who cannot diagnose why the home did not sell cannot fix the problem.

Stay with your current agent if they provided accurate pricing advice that you overrode, if they provided professional staging and photography, if they ran a comprehensive marketing campaign and if the primary reason the home did not sell is that you were not willing to accept the price the market offered. In that case, the agent did their job. The disconnect was between your price expectation and market reality. A new agent will not change the market. They will give you the same pricing advice.

If you decide to switch, look for an agent who provides an honest comparable analysis (not just a higher price to win the listing), a detailed marketing plan with professional staging and photography included, a track record of selling homes in your neighbourhood and a willingness to tell you what you need to hear rather than what you want to hear. My selling guide covers what to look for when choosing an agent.