Why won’t some houses sell, even though they’ve been on the market for ages?

Agents will be keen to reassure them that “it’s not you, it’s them”, and that there’s just a shortage of buyers at the moment.

But what if that’s not the problem? What if the real problem is the property itself?

Here are nine things that make it difficult to sell a home, and what you can do about them if any apply to your home.

1. The price is too high

This is by far the most common problem and is partly a function of how the estate agency market works.

Agents are often competing to sell the property and may pitch an ambitious price to get the instruction.

Martin McCreath, regional managing director for Your Move estate agents, adds: “A property has its best chance of selling within the first six weeks of it being on the market.

If the price is wrong from the outset, the vendor usually loses out and ends up reducing the price over time and selling at a lower price than had the property been priced correctly from the beginning.”

2. The property is in a terrible state

A study by web-blinds.com asked people to name their biggest turn-offs when house-hunting, and the top answer was poor hygiene.

Cluttered and messy rooms also made the list at number six, and untidy or overgrown gardens at number seven.

You would be forgiven for thinking that buyers can see past the mess, but the vast majority of them can’t, and a property that’s cluttered and dirty will struggle to sell.

3. There’s a physical problem with the property itself

An earlier study by price comparison site Go.Compare found that 71% of people wouldn’t buy a property that looked like it had a damp problem, while 65% would be put off by rotten windows, and other signs that the property was in a poor state of repair.

If there are serious structural problems, such as subsidence, insurers will not cover the building and mortgage companies will not lend against it.

If people cannot get a mortgage on the house, then a huge number will simply not be able to buy it.

4. Tenants in the property are making life difficult

Property investors understandably want to start a sales process when tenants are still in place.

If you have tidy and considerate tenants, then this can work well. However, often they can make the process harder.

In many cases, they’re not prepared to keep the property clean and tidy, which will put some buyers off.

Elliot Castle, founder of property site WeBuyAnyHome.com, says that tenants make access difficult too because they have no vested interest in being flexible.

5. It might be you

Property listing site Rightmove held a competition a few years ago and asked people to send in their bizarre house-buying tales. It revealed plenty of sellers who scuppered their own sales.

One wrote: “When we were looking for a new house, we found a gorgeous property and arranged with the current owners to go and look around.

"When we arrived, we were welcomed inside, but instead of being shown around the property, we were shown the lady of the house’s doll collection (which was vast and covered every wall and surface of the downstairs).

"We had to be introduced to several of the dolls by name and talk about many of them individually.”

Unsurprisingly, they weren’t tempted to buy the property.

6. The neighbours are a nightmare

Nobody wants to move into a property with problem neighbours.

An earlier study by home insurer Privilege found that the worst neighbour problems related to noise, unfriendliness, and not taking care of their property.

It concluded that living next to an inconsiderate neighbour wipes £37,000 off the value of the average home.

In some cases, the neighbours can scare off buyers altogether.

7. It’s in the wrong place

There are all sorts of issues with location that can affect a sale.

For example, McCreath says reports about local flooding, planning applications for buildings nearby and HS2 can all put buyers off.

However, nothing is impossible to shift (provided you're realistic on price).

Castle says that WeBuyAnyHome.com has bought properties blighted by all sorts of things – from one close to a mine shaft to one backing onto a sewage works.

8. Evidence of pets

Estate agents Barrows & Forrester point out that evidence of pet hair in the carpets and strong smells in the air will understandably put off potential buyers.

9. Parking is a nightmare

According to Barrows & Forrester, "a private parking space can increase the value of a home by as much as £22,500 while the complete absence of a parking option will strip 7%, or £19,500, off the value of a home".

What can you do?

In some cases, once you know what’s standing in the way of a sale, it’s relatively straightforward to put it right.

If the property is overpriced, often a price cut will do the trick.

If dirt or clutter is the issue, it’s worth investing in having it professionally cleaned and decluttered. As a rough rule of thumb, most houses do best when they are shown with between a third and two-thirds of their original contents.

In the case of messy tenants, Chris Mullins of estate agents Hamptons says it may make sense to give your tenants notice before a sale. He explains:

“As counter-intuitive as it sounds from a financial perspective, it can sometimes make more sense to wait for the tenants to move out and accept a few months’ void period, assuming a seller can afford to do so.

This gives the agent flexible access and leeway with presentation, and often a sale can be agreed more quickly as a result.

“A potential difference of £5,000 or £10,000 in the sale price means that appropriately advising a seller to employ this tactic can often make a considerable difference to the bank balance in the long run.”

If you suspect it might be you that’s putting people off, by far the easiest solution is to leave it to the agents to do the viewings so that any personal issues don’t arise.

If you have an unusual hobby or collection, a good agent should also suggest you pack it away out of sight while the property is up for sale, so buyers can see beyond the dolls or the taxidermy.

When neighbours are the issue, it’s worth talking to them.

They may be struggling with the upkeep of their property and would appreciate an offer of help.

They may be unaware of the impact of their behaviour. It’s always worth a polite and calm conversation to see if you can cure the problem before you do anything else.

Keep on top of homeownership costs

Now that we've run through the things that might be putting buyers off, let's look at how you can keep down the costs of running your property – and buying your next.

Click through our guide below for loads of clever ways to slash your household costs.

20 ways to cut the cost of owning a home