Take House Off MLS and Stage It

Q: I’ve had my house on the market for about six months now. We’re getting the occasional showing, and had a lot of showings in the beginning, but no one is biting.

We’ve lowered the price a number of times, but now my Realtor has suggested taking the house off the MLS for a month and working on staging it and then going back on. Does this make sense to you? How can you sell a house by taking it off the market?

A: I know it seems strange to take a house off the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) in order to sell it, but there’s good reason for doing so.

The MLS is the main way a house is sold. Realtors use it to find properties to show their clients and buyers search the MLS when looking for houses, as well.

When a house has been on the market for a while it becomes stale.

Realtors become familiar with the houses in their buyers’ target neighborhoods and prospective buyers often think something is wrong with a house simply because it’s been on the market for a while.

In both situations it’s important to catch their attention and get them in to see the house.

If you remove your house from the MLS for a little over a month it will show as a new house when it’s active again and you might get some Realtors and buyers to pay attention.

But just removing it from the MLS isn’t enough. Something has to change with the presentation of the house in order to make it more attractive. There’s a reason you’ve had so many showings and no one has made an offer. It could be the price, but it could be something else, too. That’s where the staging comes in.

Staging your house, even if just the main rooms, creates ambiance and shows buyers how their belongings might fit in the space. It also warms an empty house or simplifies a cluttered one. If the house is empty, it might cost some money to stage. Customarily, the seller pays for the staging, which can range from renting furniture to buying small accent pieces to bring a room together to painting and moving existing belongings around. It can also involve hiring a stager to decorate the space. Regardless of who pays, bringing a fresh look to the space can make a world of difference.

Staging and taking the house off the MLS for a while can be a winning combination that just might lead to a buyer. If it helps you to avoid lowering the price again, it certainly seems worth the effort.

Talia Freedman is a Realtor with Signature Southwest Properties
— This article appeared on page 13 of the Albuquerque Journal