Sure is nothing glaring. Seems like the house is in very good shape, is clean, on the surface doesn't appear to need any work, let alone major work.

Has she had an open house yet and gotten feedback from her realtor as to what people are saying?

Looks good to me. Is the market there filled with homes for sale? I cant believe the price, in my area here a house like that would sell for almost double that price.

I agree with Tibb, it looks well maintained and it's a nice layout. The tile entry with carpet on either side is a very dated look ---much more so than the exterior, which is kind of a surprise and letdown---- but short of redoing the flooring in that area and/or updating other stuff like bathroom counters, I don't see any problems.

The reason houses don't sell is price. They could have kept the price and done hardwood floors throughout the main floor, but they've already lowered it :-( Basically they need to compare their house with what else is in the market and adjust the price accordingly.

It seems to be fine, clean, nice house, and the exterior looks great. But the pics leave me feeling a little cold and sterile and awfully beige.

The warmest and best looking room is the FR and if you can bring some of that warmth to the rest of the place, it would help.

One of the turnoffs for me is the living room with the guitars all over the floor. Maybe keep the one guitar by the piano and put the rest in the boy's room. Certainly move them at least for the photograph.

In both the living room and play room, there's just the single sofa. I think adding a chair or two across from the sofa to make more of a conversational cluster would make it more welcoming, help define it as a living room, not a music room only.

Also there seems to be a lack of lamps in the house.

In the playroom, it seems like too much stuff is stacked up against the walls and it seems like only for little kids. Perhaps a table with a lamp and a couple of chairs and maybe a checkers board would express that it could be an adult play space as well. And in the bath, adding a few colorful hand towels would help cheer the space up. Upstairs master, that dresser looks crammed next to the bed and says, "no place for a dresser".

I mean none of these are major changes, and people should recognize they are buying the house, not the furnishings, but people don't. But I'm reaching here to find suggestions as it's basically fine.

Assuming it's the house and not the location - first thing that struck me was, it is a three bedroom. Can they build a closet in the playroom and call it a fourth bedroom? Maybe move the crib in there? If its in a basement they would have to do an egress window but might be worth it. People might just look at that crib in the master and say "Yep- too crowded here for us too"

Then I would rearrange the furniture in the music room. Some kind of conversation group. Add an area rug over the carpet and group the sofas together.

Master bedroom needs a bigger rug, and put it under the bed a bit.

Kitchen repaint and loose the green wall paint. That is a must IMO. It's not doing anyone any favors. The tile on the island bar should be removed. Another must IMO. I think painted beadboard would be cheap and easy. Or just painted boards horizontal.

As long as the baths are spotless leave them alone.

I know people say to declutter but the place looks stark. Especially that music room.

You could spend $2000 doing simple updates or possibly add a cash at closing for décor incentive on a full price offer.

A complaint that I have is when online pictures are in some random order. I would prefer them to flow from the front door through the house, just like one would tour it. With so much house shopping being done on line, getting a better visual of layout I feel really makes a house appeal to viewers. Can the pictures be re-ordered? Are they getting viewings, but no offers?

The pics are good. I think kitchen looks dated, and that's a big deterrent for some. One thing I think about places such as San Antonio and TX/the south in general is that there is still so much construction going on that for a similar price, people can build a house to their specs. My friend in a Houston suburb just went through the same thing. Unless your neighborhood is in demand and there's no new building going on, you need to adjust your expectations. Of course, I don't know if this applies to your friend's neighborhood but just a thought. My friend did end up lowering the price a lot and her house was on the market for well over 6 months (she had already moved, down the street!, and could afford to keep the house on the market as long as it took).

I agree the house is beautiful and clean looking, but I think it could use a few touches especially in the family room photo, kitchen, bathrooms and the patio. When selling a house, there is a delicate balance between removing personal items and leaving just enough so that the potential buyers feel like it would be enjoyable to live in the house.

In the kitchen, I would leave a large bowl of colorful produce on the counter and a beautiful cookbook open. Make the bathrooms feel like spas, by placing a bud vase with a single flower and a new, neatly folded white towel with a pretty bar of soap on it in next to each sink or resting on the tub. Set the outdoor table with place settings so it looks like the new owners could really spend a lot of quality time enjoying meals on the deck. For the music room in this house, I would remove the guitars from the walls. If they need to stay, I would find away to display them neatly together. Display music on the piano. I would also add some color in the form of throw pillows on the couch and I wold find something interesting to hang over the sofa. I would also put something colorful, perhaps flowers over the piano.

When we sold last year, I spent time doing this to each room every morning and before each showing. It was a lot of work, but it was well worth it, we sold in just over a week. I also kept a box in each bathroom and bedroom so that every morning everyone's personal stuff could quickly be put into the box and ready for me to move from the house if there was going to be a showing. I also had a list of tasks that had to be performed in each room before a showing. I bought cheap flowers at Trader Joe's and just always kept the flowers fresh and produce out.

Edited to say, that I think the bedrooms, especially the kids rooms look fabulous!

The room with the piano needs to be staged. It is the first living type room buyers will see and it looks like they never figured out how to use it which will make buyers think the same. Don't angle the dining room table. Get rid of the minty green. On my way out the door so will look more later.

What does her realtor suggest? I don't know the market in San Antonio, but I can sympathize with your friend as it took our old house in the DFW area longer than expected to move (and we too had already moved on to our new home). For us, price made all the difference and your friend may need to drop her price even further (although that's not what anyone selling wants to do, I realize). I do think the kitchen and master bath are a little bit dated, particularly at that price point, but see nothing glaring that would prohibit people from wanting to make an offer. I am of the firm opinion that staging doesn't matter all that much and isn't worth sinking time, effort, and particularly money into. Attractive pricing is what moves a house like this one.

Well, not knowing what the competition looks like, based on the pictures, I wouldn't like:

1. It seems dark. All pictures have the lights on.

2. The picture of the master bath basically shows the neighbor's massive roof through the window. Lack of privacy.

This is the house closest, but it's more expensive, so not sure.

Buyers usually look within price parameters. While $ 315,000.00 seems like a far price for this house, many potential buyers will set their searches and be qualified to a certain 'Must be under' price. "We can only afford a house under $300,000.00." If your friends would do OK selling for less, and if they are really in a hurry, they should talk to their realtor about the market for homes priced at 299,000.00. Good luck.

Excellent point, maddielee. Those search parameters are something our realtor made sure we were well aware of. They do matter. (But I'd probably go with $299,900 as a starting point. ;-))

Something else to think about: The longer that house sits, the more of a selling stigma it develops. Realtors will even stop showing it in favor of newer listings. Whether or not there is anything "wrong" with the house, it will begin to be perceived that way. Realtor.com shows that the house was listed on March 15. That website also shows that the average home price in San Antonio is $229,900, which makes me think again that the asking price is slightly high. If your friends are willing to remove the house from the MLS and relist it (I believe there's a 30-day waiting period) at a price under the $300k mark, I'd be willing to bet it will move. It will certainly move to the top of the listings, as it will then be a new listing and those always generate buyer interest.

The music room picture is a real turnoff as others have stated. It and the kitchen needs something to make the place feel "homey." I've seen listings where art and even furniture was photo-shopped into the photos. Some, dare I say alot, of folks simply have no imagination and need to be shown the potential a house has.

I'd be curious to know the kind of comments they got after showings.

"You could spend $2000 doing simple updates or possibly add a cash at closing for décor incentive on a full price offer."

That's what I was thinking. Love the house, and the curb appeal is excellent. What stood out to me was some dark rooms, and too many color choices!

When we listed my parents house, it stayed on the market for a few months without a bite. Some of the rooms had outdated colors (peach, light green, etc.) We went in a painted the entire downstairs and a couple of upstairs bedrooms in a light neutral color. The house sold the next week! However, the new owners went in and repainted to their liking.

Having experienced the above, I would offer a painting incentive of $2000 - $4000. Some people have no vision, so if they have cash to spend on improvements, upfront, that may help sell the house. ;)

oh, yes, as zmith indicated...some staging may help! My daughter and I helped stage our neighbors home. It takes a neutral eye (someone not connected to the house) to see what's missing in a home.

i agree that it basically looks fine, but is probably overpriced for what else you can get for the $ in the area...

the roof view out the master bath window would be a turnoff to me (tho i have never lived with zero lot lines...maybe not so much a turnoff to those who have) ... i would probably take down the shade and put up a cafe curtain on a tension rod 2/3's the way up the window... or at least take another picture with the shade down and put the shade down for showings.

i would probably put the little tykes play set in the basement for now.

the window in the master bedroom is an attractive feature- i'd move the rocking chair away from it-- doesn't do anything for it.

main problem is the rooms look 'dated' and some of the rooms look small... i would think price is the biggest issue. i would check what price/sq ft similar houses have sold for in the area and price similar to that... if it's at or lower than what comps have been selling for and they don't want to go lower, they may have to sit with it for awhile...

It is the price. They haven't set it where the market will sell.

I don't like to comment on markets I don't know, because things are so different. But looking at comps on zillow/redfin show that many of the neighbors may have upgraded their finishes. And, it struck me that there are a lot of homes up for sale. It may come down to price (or incentives, a great idea) or upgrades, but the local realtor and people know best. In terms of simple changes, I agree with the others that the bottom floor is where you might have the most impact: cabinet hardware, larger art in the LR, simple panels to frame the view in the music room (open the blinds unless you are hiding something!), accessories to tie in the green wall color (it looks like an uncompleted thought in the kitchen/family room). A decor allowance could be applied to flooring or new counters. But, it may all be due to price.

Recently sold comp (video tour) from down the street -- one year newer, a bit smaller, less a half bath, but with higher ceilings, a bigger kitchen, better finishes and sold for only $15K more last summer. This coupled with the fact that much larger nearby houses (3.2K+, +1 BR) are listed for $350K, suggests this price needs to start with a 2.

Aktillery,

you should get your hands on it in terms of decor/staging!

Next to FP in the LR, the right chair needs to be moved out of the walking path. Either move it in front of the window or closer to the FP. No one wants to dodge furniture. Makes the room/house feel small.

In the bedroom with crib, I would move the tall dresser from beside the bed. It's not only awkward looking, but gives the impression the room is not big enough. Then they came scoot the bed over a bit so that it isn't in the way to open the closet doors/stand in front of closet.

Things in corners, like the dollhouse, make a room visually cramped. So do beds against walls - I think the twin bed in boy's room is against the wall.

Definitely spiff up the LR. First impression and all.

Have they looked at the listings abve and below them in the same zip code? They look better than some, but there are others that are larger, 4 BR and look like they have some architectural interest. Not knowing the neighborhoods, it's hard to say where hers should be priced, but the vacant homes seem to indicate it is a buyers market and she is competing with other eager sellers. Prices may even be softening -- or they may be holding but just taking longer to sell.

Why are they buying a new home now? If they felt they were getting a good buy, the flip side may be that the price on the selling side needs to be lower.

Other than that, I would try to add some personality, rearrange and perk it up, take new photos and put them in a walk through order. When you see a BR first, it makes me think the living areas must be pretty bad. First photos on another listing (not your friend's, but one in the same zip code) were a bathroom (toilet and sink, not big shower and soaker tub) and the small, dark laundry. If those are your first impression selling points, you're in trouble. Make a good first impression.

akt, here's some info on "days on market" and relisting that you may want to share with your friend. I still maintain that it's not the current décor (or lack thereof) that isn't moving the house. It's price, and it's also going to become the number of days that it's been just sitting there that will also factor into people not even wanting to see it.

http://homebuying.about.com/od/marketfactstrends/qt/022508_DaysMrkt.htm

It's the price. Needs to be lowered. It will all come out equal in the end with reduced carrying costs paying for the mortgage on it.

This house not selling has nothing to do with the decor or the colors or the finishes or, or, or..

I agree with putting the price just under 300,000. and maybe even offering an allowance, like for a hood over the island cooktop? lol

I don't know anything about your market, but just using my experience in Real Estate with our market, I think it's a nice house and clean but it's also a very basic non-discript tract home on a small lot. Location may be an issue for some as the homes in the sub are seemingly on top of each other. Even though it appears to be in good condition might there be something going on that isn't visible in the pictures? Like the condition of the appliances or roof even? AlthoughIt 2500 sf is a decent size for a family, it has no real upgrades that make it stand out. I don't think the bedroom count is an issue though, because there's a game room which could always be converted.

The site you linked to doesn't offer any recent sales to comp it to but spring is when everyone starts to list, maybe in the past couple of months, the market has become saturated with listings of similar homes and now it's over listed for the current market. The reality is, you can list it for any price but ultimately, it's only worth what a buyer will pay right? So a $5000 drop just may not be enough to entice. If they haven't gotten one already, I would have your friend ask their realtor for a current market analysis to see what the market has done in the last 30-60 days and adjust the price accordingly so that it's in the mid range area of what has recently sold.

My basement had a furnace puff back and was full of boxes and boxes of messy storage stuff. The rest of the house looked very good, everything neat and updated, but I had to clear out the basement (was going to put the stuff in storage) and have it cleaned from the puff back. I was living out of state and went back over Christmas vacation to do that. I figured my house would not sell until I had dealt with the basement. I put it on the market just to get the ball rolling. I figured my house would not sell until spring, especially not over the Christmas holiday season. It sold in ten days. Why? Price. I didn't lose my shirt on the house either, I got out of it what I put into it and then some. But prices had come down in my market and I priced it accordingly, to sell. It did.

Thanks everyone for the helpful insight and suggestions. I will share with my friend.

I did not read all of the replies, but spent time on Zillow looking at comps in her neighborhood. According to Zillow ( which I know can be iffy) other homes in the neighborhood are all priced higher. I would remove extraneous objects (guitars, toys, etc.), stage the house and have professional pictures taken with the correct lighting. This does seem to be a nice area. Wish her luck, we all have been there.

The main problem is location - it is way too far from downtown, being outside the outer loop. If someone wants to be that far out, they can build a new house to their specs, as someone noted.

I'm not in the market for a house and it's hard to tell the vibe of a house through internet pictures but except for the two kids bedrooms there is (as others have mentioned) no warmth in that house. Where is the colour, the artwork, etc. I know some realtors will tell you to depersonalize a home so that viewers can envision themselves in it but I think they went to far.

I think the house looks very clean and well-kept, but I actually like the exterior much more than the interior. I mean no offense, but my initial reaction of the interior was "blah". The exterior exudes more character, imo. I think the tile floors and the oak kitchen and green walls look very dated. We've recently sold a home and I know it's a fine line when staging to remove clutter but still leave a house feeling cozy and homey. I wish your friends luck and hope they have a sale soon!

This is one home that could really benefit from staging. The rooms lack style and warmth. The lighting is poor which makes the interior almost depressing. I agree about the kitchen - at least paint the walls. The exterior is so nice, and then it is a letdown when you see the interior. Still, if they want to sell quickly, they need to reduce the price.

Have new pics taken now that the trees have leafed out, add some artwork and interior plants to add some warmth, lower the price.

Well, First off, kudos to a spic and span clean and uncluttered home! Great job. Next, some suggestions:

In my opinion...... at first glance, if it were me and was handy with a little paint, I'd repaint the garage door, front columns, front door and shutters. The reason I say that is I'm noticing that the houses next to it are brick as well and that first picture of the listing reads "tired" to me (that yellowish color (garage) and tannish color (shutters) with the brick is kind of hurting things for your first impression). Meaning that if they would either 1/punch up the contrast or 2/crisp up the brick like with white paint on the columns and garage, that would show the brick in a much better, "fresher" way, It would differentiate the listing from the houses around it and it would be more inviting right of the bat. Right now, to me, it reads drab or "older" home.

Second, a quick fix would be to change out the old door handles/knobs on the interior doors to get rid of the gold tone. If money permits, I'd change the faucets at the bathroom sinks as well. I think these 2 things will help the house feel younger than it's actual age.

Someone else mentioned the entrance tile floor strip from the front door. I'd put a nice rug/"runner" over that, perhaps. I'd also relocate that dresser that is in the master bedroom to another wall or to the closet. If they could borrow some artwork to put into the music room, that would help that room. It feels a little sterile or not quite finished. I agree with relocating the guitars for now...

Just some suggestions I had. Meant in the best possible way.

Hope they get it sold quickly and for the price they want! Good luck.

TV location in living room would probably be a deal breaker for me. Move it someplace else or leave it out. Right now you are just showing me a bad setup. (But then again, we really like to watch TV at our house, so for us, the ability to put one in every room we wanted one in would be a top priority.)

Paint turns me off.

Don't like the neighbor's roof shot.

We could nitpick, but I don't see anything meaningful enough to impact salability. Short of what the TV shows do, where they paint everything the latest color and use the hottest props, there is nothing to do here. I would not bother doing anything, except perhaps a shade on the BA window that looks onto someone else's roof.

Kudos to her for what looks like a ton of work put into it to get it ready!

Good news! It's under contract! Fingers crossed all goes well!!

thanks to everyone for commenting.

Colorful area rugs, especially in foyer, dining room, and kitchen. New light fixtures over island. A few kitchen accessories with color on the bare countertops. A few colorful prints on walls. Get the crib out of the MB and put a dresser there. The home looks stripped and barren, not just decluttered. You have to assume most buyers have no imagination. Whoever buys this house will have major renovation expense. After these minor improvements a substantial price reduction to below 300K. A 5K price reduction is nothing and would have not benefited the sales of the house much if at all.

Peaches, I just wrote it's under contract. Guess someone liked it as is or might rennovate. I'm so excited for my friend!!

Great news!. Hope it works out!

hoorah!

Hooray! We'll keep our fingers crossed for her until the closing is complete.