You hired your Realtor because you had faith in his expertise. Many people have trouble imagining furniture in any empty space, so being able to imagine a dining room and living room sounds like a good call.

A pool table wouldn't stop me from buying a home that's competitively priced.

Sometimes people mistakenly think the things that they spent money on to upgrade a house should recouped 100% when they sell it.

So you turned the formal area of the house into party central!

It does have a male bachelor vibe, specially with the dorm room fridge in there! Does the rest of the home give that same vibe? Could be the reason why families aren't seeing it as a good fit.

As far as the chandelier, you can swap the two you have and put the large one, rotated 90 degrees, over a rectangular dining table.

Listen to your agent. Hire a stager. With your agent, review the comparable houses that sold in the last six months while yours sat on the market.

You may get more comments if you post a link to the listing. Is it currently listed in the MLS?

A home is worth what someone is willing to pay. This is universal, at the upper reaches of a market, and true in a trailer park.

It hasn't had a single offer in six months ( ? ) or is it that you have refused a a couple low ball offers?

I'd sit down with the broker. Do some serious staging, ( show the other rooms btw. ...like the kitchen)

I'm of the mind that a home with no offer at all in six to eight weeks? It's price .

Sometimes? Rather than show a reduction? Yank it off the market and come back on early April to Mid may.

Why? If it's multiple listed and no lookers/takers? Everyone has either found their home, or they liked yours, but not at that price , or or or

Staging expense in order. Pay a pro!

Interest rates are not exactly your friend right now. And folks that have a 3% mortgage are not exactly looking to give up that rate to buy a new house at a higher interest rate.

If you still have the furniture and friends/teens with strong backs, then go ahead and swap the pool table and furniture. It will give you something to do and help take some of the stress off your mind.

Lowering the price is typically the answer to selling a house. But certain times of the year are certainly better for house sales too.

Our pricing has been lowered, but It is a large house and in SoCal. We do listen to all the prospective buyers coming and price has not been an issue. We are well priced for our neighborhood. the house is expensive and yes , interest rates have gone up. However, in the price range it is most people are coming in with substantial cash. And we have noticed most of the buyers are quite a bit older and buying the house (it is on an acre) to have a place for their grandchildren, but they are sitting on the fence. We are going to do some more staging and take it off the market for a month to start fresh. Thank all of you for responding. I really appreciate all the suggestions.

If price is not an issue, then do you have any idea what is?

I agree with Jane who said: that pool table set up and high end house are incongruent statements.. Hire a stager.

I think it would work in a psychological way. Yes, a lot of us could imagine this and that in place of X, but it's so much nicer to have the right thing there, to feel it and see it. And rugs. Rugs for the right texture. I'm no stager but I am a sucker for something that has been staged to my liking. (Maybe that's why I'm a sucker for something that has been well staged.)

Ten points for chisper for the comment, 'So you turned the formal area of the house into party central! It does have a male bachelor vibe, specially with the dorm room fridge in there!'

(I had to search for that fridge. And yes, I didn't really notice it, but the vibe is wrong.)

I usually do not use my homes in conventional ways, often using rooms in ways they were not intended - but I have always relied on my realtor to advise me whether they should go back to the original (traditional) set up or not. They make their recommendations based on the market and perceived importance. I used the "dining room" area in my first condo as my office, and at the time she said it wouldn't matter and it didn't. In another sale of a different condo, we reverted my exercise room into the bedroom it had been before, because they felt it suited the market better.

Yes, your realtor's advice seems like good advice. Get rid of all of the furniture in the room, and take down the shelving (housing booze bottles) and tv.

Do you have a separate dining room? If so, I'd stage this as a large gathering space without a dining set. If the dining area needs to stay, you need TWO new fixtures, not just the fixture currently over the pool table. If you post your style of furnishings, textiles, and artwork, we can help you select the fixtures.

I’m in bay area not socal, but every house listed is moved out and professionally staged. If the same is true in your area i’d be inclined to stage it. people are used to having well placed small furniture that makes spaces appear large. :)

"We are well priced for our neighborhood. "

Have you pulled extensive comps or did you just take your realtor's word for it? I looked up your house. It is over priced for your neighborhood. You started too high and are still too high. Other homes in your neighborhood that sold for similar prices have outdoor kitchens, swimming pools, extensive landscaping with rivers and waterfalls, 4-car garages, and some have 1,000 more square feet.

Don't hire a stager. No other homes that have sold or are listed are staged. And anyone purchasing will gut or seriously renovate them all. They all look like someone's grandma lived there and recently died and they left everything as is. Your's looks like your grandma died and you moved in to party in the house like a grown up frat boy while it is on the market.

Yes, get rid of the everything in the pool table room. Keeping it empty would be better than how it looks now. Set up the first floor bedroom as a bedroom. The workout room is a bit insane too. Can you move that set up to the basement or garage?

Im in SoCal. Are you with a GREAT realtor? when is your contract up with that realtor? start interviewing others. Where I live in SoCal inventory is low, and prices are still skyrocketing. Time for a new realtor.

"A high end home", "People with plenty of cash" ..doesn't sound like the chandy above the pool table would be an issue. I bet a stager would use that area for the dining room...The TV looms I would remove it while you are at it. If you are listening to the lookers what are they saying???

It's always the price, in the end.

Price. High end buyers always renovate/redecorate, so moving a chandelier isn’t a big deal.

You said that you listen to all prospective buyers. Well, I hope you take what they say with a grain of salt--particularly if they are directly giving you these comments. People have a reason for passing on a house, and what they say may or may not be what the true reason is. If you have an expensive house, it may simply be above what they can spend, but they still wanted to see it. If can also be that they don't want to say that it is overpriced, because they don't want the realtor to think they can't afford that price range or they don't want to offend.

Where is the listing?

Price, price price, price price.

Don’t stage. Spend an hour on zillow looking at comps. I looked up your house. No other sales in your area are staged. Everyone is buying to completely redecorate, maybe gut, where you live.

The market is not the issue - all cash purchases. Interest rates don’t matter.

Price it right. You lowered from a price that was way too high to start. Your home has no extra $500 k outdoor features that others in the price range have in your area.

If all the buyers are saying the same thing, I think the feedback is worth considering. More often, most people try to be polite. They don't want to say, "Your price is way too high" so they'll come up with an innocuous reason as to why they passed.

Some realtors will agree to list a home for more than they think the home will sell just to get the listing. Once they list it and pay for photos, if they aren't advertising the home, their expenses are minimal. When the home finally sells, they will get paid, albeit a little less. If they don't have the listing they get $0.

Back in the crazy real estate days of 2007 I used to read a blog by a realtor in CA. I always remember his favorite RE phrase ...

"There is no defect that price can't cure"

That is, at the right price, even the house right next to the active railroad tracks will sell.

Another approach…sounds like good outside living is a major selling point and instead of spending money on staging, I’d just strip the room (letting people envision their own furniture) and bump up the outdoor appeal/functionality, so people leave with a good impression and can imagine enjoying.

Taking it off the market is a good idea; when people know its been on for more than a few months, they wonder why. During that time, make your changes (could also remove carpet on staircase) and interview other agents (get referrals). Their combined knowelge will really help you and select the best agent (not necessarily the biggest). Who knows where the market will be as well and your price will be appropriate.

I find it hard to believe that I'm the only one questioning the people you're working with.

Yes, it is the price. But there is a lot of strategy involved in pricing a home for sale.

A good realtor feels the responsibility and the incentive to both get the sale, and also manage your expectations.

Sometimes, the strategy involves pulling the house off the market, doing something to it, waiting a month or whatever, and then relisting.

I still think I'm giving you strong advice to find another Realtor. The current realtor had their chance.

UNLESS, you self-examine and you know YOU have been the problem, by thwarting the realtor's best efforts and advice. But seriously, 6 months in this sales environment in a high end area of SoCal? Uh.

Also don't sign any listing contract longer than 90 days. The realtors always try to sneak in 6 months, but I never agree to that. I want to be able to move on after 90 days, if I don't feel they are marketing the house properly. If they are doing the best they can, it is easy to renew for another 90 days.

Unfortunately, I have to agree with the majority of others. I'm not a realtor but have bought and sold quite a few houses including homes in Southern CA and the Bay Area, and in the end it comes down to asking price. Potential buyers are comparing your home to everything else on the market in a particular price range.

Dated kitchen and bathrooms? Lower the price. High interest rates? Lower the price. Odd layout? Lower the price. Less desirable school district? Lower the price. And a series of tiny price reductions seldom do the trick. Spend some time on Zillow and check out your competion. Don't just look at the asking price of nearby homes, check out what comparable homes actually sold for and how long they stayed on the market.

Consider taking the house off the market for a couple of months, find a realtor who sells a lot of homes in your area and is willing to be honest with you, and take their advice on projects and pricing. It's a bitter pill to swallow -- one I've had to swallow myself. But in the end, your house is only worth what someone is willing to pay on the day you want to sell it. Good luck.

"Beauty is in the eye...". You say high end, which means to me, expensive and large. Then you have to present it in that way. Hire someone to stage (with high end furniture).

Your home is high end in your location. In mine (Boston) this is high end. A historic beauty, with original details, updated with sensitive improvements to make it work with new technology.

https://www.redfin.com/MA/Boston/22-Brimmer-St-02108/home/11509614

Staging is dependent on the market. If every single home in your area is not staged and is selling, no need to do it.

so what is the feedback if it's not price??? does the realtor follow up w/the people who have seen the home? what do they say?

Is this in OC?

Whats behind the yard?

Is there an HOA?

are the bathrooms/kitchens updated?

from the photos you've posted, I don't think the pool table is the issue.

Probably a good idea to get a new realtor. 6months is more than enough time.

If you really want, or need, to sell, you need to take the listing down, take out the pool table and lower your price. A lot.

Ask me how I know.

https://www.houzz.com/user/elcieg, thank you so much for the picture! Your home is amazing! I went to school in Massachusetts and my husband grew up in Boston. We are going to change realtors, stage the living room , dining room combo and do some work on the outdoors. Hopefully, that will be enough. Again, the picture really helped. And all the suggestions are being taken to heart, so thank you to all the people who gave them!

https://www.houzz.com/user/carolbrandywine, We priced it reduced from the homes that sold doors down from us and then reduced it by about 500,000. However, we were open to offers. We live in a gated community that is very desired as it is flat, usable with a very socially active and friendly neighborhood. Most of the other houses listed here are not neighborhood friendly, as we are semi-rural. It is a more desirable neighborhood than many of the houses listed, unless you desire completely being alone. But we are going to take it off the market for now, and regroup and rethink.

"We are going to change realtors, stage the living room , dining room combo and do some work on the outdoors. Hopefully, that will be enough."

It will be..........with the right price: )

Did you end up talking to a few more realtors? It is so important to work with somebody that you trust but also has the experience in all kinds of market situations such as higher interest rates and low inventory. That's where we are now. If you'd like to check in with another realtor, my sister is a realtor in LA (West side) with 30 years of experience. Private message me if you'd like to discuss further.