hi, and thanks to all who answered my question we have removed it from the market and may try again after christmas with another agent of course.I had asked the agent to take some pics off as I thought he has too many and dosent leave to many rooms out,I asked him on many occasions to remove pics but he didnt.The add that was in our local real estate add was very boring and bland,and didn't do any justice for our home as if you look at the front of the house you can not imagine what it has to offer.Thank-you to you all for your comments ,I will take them all on board when we re-list after christmas.Thanks again and I wish you all a great and safe  christmas and new yr. 

                                                                           Cham

Hey, don't stress out, remember everything happens for a reason, maybe the neighbours around the other house were bad, or it had white ants LOL.............Being completely critical (as I am gathering this is why you asked)  Your home is lovely, huge and seems like a great buy, I would however re-take the out door photo's on a nice clear sunny day, as the cloudy light and sky in the ones you have may throw off a subtle negative vibe,  take the arm covers off the arms of your lounge suit as they conjure images of older people, when it will be a growing family you're after (I'm truely not picking on ou, just looked at them with a critical eye, so as to help..... or not, maybe you'll just track me down and kill me LOL) you have only pics of 4 bedrooms not 5 which I found a bit confusing, also I would (unless it's being used of course) remove one of the single beds out so as that room looks larger as you write the bedrooms are all spacious & that one looks small in the pics, perhaps pop a bedside table & draws in instead.....I agree that the Pool table needs to be uncovered & displayed, can the bar be removed as it looks a bit funny blocking off a door also there are no shelves or anything but a bar fridge behind it so it looks a bit un used and unfinished, I would take it out & move the pool table into the centre of the room more as you can't play pool against a wall & you need it to look functional and have the "I want to do that"factor... or alternatively make it a bar room & remove the pool table, either or.    Your kitchen is BEAUTIFUL, AWSOME, AMAZING and you barely mention it.... you need to play it up more as the kitchen is the heart of a house and a bathroom incidently can make or break a sale as well (I watch a heap of property shows on foxtel LOL) A pic of the staircase might also be good, and lastely you mention 3 bathrooms and I can only find pics of 2............  I wish your house was in Esperance I'd snap it up in no time... infact you'd have a bidding war on your hands over here, prices are riddiculous which is why we're chosing to rent.  Also have your block propperly measured as it appears to be much bigger than the 804 you state, 804 over here gives you no back yard after the house is on it.   I think you might be missing a 1 at the front.  You CAN multi list, you can list it with every real estate mob in town if you want to, it's your choice & I think that the one you've got has proven himself to be lazy so I would do this for sure, we sold our house last march in 36 hours............... in Dodgey Boulder/Kalgoorlie for our asking price because our realator already had a couple lined up and knew that our home was what they were looking for, we got money back from realator due to no advertising neccessary.  I know we're in a boom, but surely people stil want to live in beautiful Mackay.  Over here we have GHIA leases which are long term leases by the School system to tennent out to teachers, also the minig companies long lease homes and tennant them (though here for some reason they preffer to leave them empty????  Anyway if you find it's still not moving approach these kinds of people as they also buy homes for this purpose.  These leases release the actual owner from rates and maintenace costs as well and your house more than fits their criteriers (2 bathrooms etc),  you get your lease money weather anyones in it or not for however many years you sign up for, so maybe that might be an alternative to selling whilst the markets there is on the de-cline, it'll still be a tidy investment without any financial drain & you can still sell it at anytime, you simply sell it as an investment property with the lease, it happens all the time here.  I wish you all the best, but don't make yourself crazy over it, all you can do is what you can do, and if it's not happening trust the universe knows what it's doing. xo

Hey,you have a lovely home and i dont think you will have any troubles selling you just have to wait for the right person.  I have been to mackay and i think i ts absolutly beautiful and if i were a little older with a few kids i would buy your house. Dont give up,its hard work and stressful, just give it time.

Hi Cham

It is very stressful selling a house.  I worked in admin in real estate for several years, so I see a lot of the workings and have put lots of thought into it. 

My advice would be remove all but a few of the best photos.  I wouldn't come to an open house either, there is nothing left to see from the photos.  I would include one of the front of the house, taken either on a lovely day or at twilight with all of the internal and external lights on and one taken from the back corner of the dining room towards the kitchen with a wide angle lens. 

This is just my opinion, you have large furniture in the lounge and a large amount of stuff in the rumpus and the beds are in front of the windows, this gives the impression in photos that things are cramped, but I know from having studied photography that it is largely due to the lack of a wide angle lens, which is a must for real estate.  Don't change these things, just be aware that they make things look smaller in photos.  A couple of tips are to set the table for the photo and uncover the pool table and put it in the middle of the room in the rumpus.

Good luck, and please, I am trying to be helpful not hurtful, I am sorry if any of this upsets.  Enjoy your Christmas and your house will sell if it is meant to.  It only takes one person to buy it.

Jodi

Hi Cham,I wondered where you where! Selling a house is a tough time,very emotional and stressful. Hope it changes soon and you get lots of people! You have good advice here so take care and thinking of you. Try above all to enjoy the Christmas time, the only thing i can think of is they say cookie smell brings buyers good feelings so hope you bake lots and the people smell it and come rushing over!

Hi
There is a lot of good advice there. Six weeks isn't a long time but you would think there would be some people coming through. llmunchkin is correct. You really need a catchy sell line. It needs to be short sharp and eye catching. It also depends on where you want to advertise. There are a couple of free sites around. Give me a day or two and I will dig them out and send them on to you. The picture is the next thing to look at. Stand out the front a couple of times during the day (to get different sun perspectives) and look at the house from different angles then snap what you think looks the most attractive. List with multiple agents - I know you get a discount for an exclusive listing with one agent but you pay the penalty of getting lower traffic.

Wow - 5 bedroom under 500k - talk about room to grow

I love the wow factor - people always stop and read - 5 bedroom says big - under 500k says good price - room to grow, several conotations - more kids, add extensions - if you advertise outside your area then add something like

gateway to Whitsundays - or similar

good luck - let me know if you would like me to send some private listing sites.

cheers
les - Arna's other half

Lovely big home you have there... I think the other picture from the outside on an angle is more eye-catching and flattering - perhaps you guys could try using that as the listing photo?  Also, I think 'looks can be deceiving' is good... However the word that stands out is deceiving... Real estate and car sales men don't really have the best reputations, and this word would not score well with any potential buyers.  Maybe you need to put yourself out there and write something like - 'Your future fantastic 5 bedroom family home'  (Let the title do the work), then maybe have something in there like - 'Just like the tardis, the exterior of this house hides large living areas, etc etc...'

Just a thought - you have nothing to lose, what you are doing isn't working, so use your imagination and really think about who might be best suited to the house.  Their age, their interests and write something specific to your target audience.  Good luck whatever you do matey, and chin up, don't worry about the other house, it has gone because there is a better one for you and your family hiding in the future somewhere.

I know the area you are in.......

You  have stated it as being Neg, I feel 6 weeks on the market is not that long....
perhaps you just need to have a little more patience and also multi list?

make your agent and others work for their commission.......
also advertise in the trading post and Country life.... Sometimes country people require a city dwelling

Good Luck

regards Flossy

Hello Cham

I think that the add is fine. The pics are great and so is the price. My sister is trying to sell her house at the moment and is having the same dramas. Her house has been on the market for 6 months thou!! I would suggest getting another agent if you aren't happy with the one you have. Other than that all you can do is wait. Sorry.

Change real estate agents.  The one you are with now is obviously not interested in selling your property any time soon.  You see, if a real estate agent has a few houses on his books, then he is going to try and sell the ones he believes are going to sell quickly first.  Unfortunately, this means that you maybe missing out on the attention that should be paid to your home..  I did notice that there is a lot of white in the house.  People can find that quite clinical.  Also, the kitchen and bathroom need a little updating.  I love the house though.  If I had the money, I'd be on your doorstep offering a private sale.  no joke, we need a bigger house.

Don't stress too much about it.  That can leave negative vibes in the house, and you don't want that.  Keep your chin up and remind yourself that there is a special person out there who is looking for that same house.  They just don't know it yet!  you could always rent it out for a while too, while you sell it.  Tenanted properties seem to sell quicker than vacant properties.  The guarantee of income is always a winner.  I reckon you could get upto $450 per week for that house.  And if you do, make sure you go through a real estate that people know, like The Professionals.  The bigger name realty companies do a lot better than the little local guy.

im from perth and that price is cheap compared to here. my next door neighbour just sold her 4x2 for $450,000 and thats on a 510 square block. the house sounds wonderful. and the pics are good. i would concider going elsewhere to sell if he isnt doing his job.

good luck
Luv Liz