The last thing that most sellers want to do is lower the price of the property. This is not a popular decision, but it can pay off when buyers are instantly attracted to the home as a result. There are certain circumstances in which lowering the price can be a good idea. For example, if the current real estate market is somewhat sluggish, you’ll find that discussions between property sellers and their estate agents can become quite heated. It’s natural for the seller to blame the agent, and the agent in turn will blame the high sale price.
If you’re selling your property, you’ll want to have a serious discussion about these issues. You’ll want to choose a real estate who will do everything in their power to sell your property in a timely manner, at the highest price possible. One way to get started with finding the right agent to do this for you is to register your details at LocalAgentFinder. This free comparison service allows you to receive agent proposals from some of the highest qualified professionals in your area, so that you can find the right individual to maximise your profits.
Advertising your Property
As you think about what you need to do to sell your property, you’ll want to discuss the following ten questions with your real estate agent. Make sure that these efforts have been made before you consider reducing your sale price.
- How many advertisements have been created and placed for my property listing? Which venues were they published in, and will they be republished?
- What type of information about the property has been put into the advertisements? Could they have too little or too much information?
- Has a direct mail marketing campaign been attempted? Which forms of media have been employed? Have you used pamphlets, flyers, post cards, and other mailers?
- Have you held open for inspections on the property, and if so how many? Have you been showing the property to potential buyers privately as well?
- Are there online advertisements that have been placed? Do these have high quality, attractive photos included?
- Have an adequate type and number of signs been used to market the property? Are these large and in full colour? Are they located in an area where the public can easily see them, and do they have the right contact information on them? Ideally, these should have the real estate agency website address as well as several contact phone numbers.
- Is there a virtual tour of my property included in the online advertisement, as well as clickable text, audio, and other interactive features? How much would this cost to add?
- What do potential buyers and other real estate agents who you have interacted with thought about my home?
- Am I paying my real estate agent a fair enough commission? Have I compared this to other estate agents in the area? Was I too tough during initial pricing negotiations?
- How many showings have been held so far at my property? Could we be showing the property to more viewers? Is the buyer’s real estate market draining you of motivation or is the market cold?
Is Now the Right Time to Sell?
When it’s a buyer’s market, it’s time to ask yourself a few of these tough questions. In some cases, it may be better to sell your house at a different time entirely. When economic times are difficult and the supply of homes exceeds buyer demand, it may be a good idea to simply take your house off the market rather than reduce its sale price. Keeping a high-priced property on the market will not generate interest, and will bring down the market conditions even further.
There are alternatives for those who don’t have to sell at the moment. You could consider renting out your property, or holding onto it until market conditions have become more favourable for sellers. Generally, you’ll need to remember that sellers must be willing to adjust their goals and keep the current market conditions in mind. You can do this by having a frank discussion with your real estate agent. Use the free online dashboard at LocalAgentFinder to find a local agent who will be familiar with the current conditions in your neighbourhood. They will be able to help advise you as to whether now is really a good time to sell, or if you will be the house on the block with the “for sale” sign left up indefinitely.
Choosing a Suitable House Price
The general danger associated with pricing your property too high is that you may have to repeatedly reduce it in order to finally find a buyer. This is dangerous because it can make potential buyers suspicious about the quality of your home, and they may also wait to see if you will make any further reductions before making an offer. If you do determine that reducing the price is the best solution, it’s ideal to only drop it a single time. The following are five tasks that will help ensure that you only need to drop the price one time:
- If you have a strained relationship with your current real estate agent because they have not been able to sell your house, you need to stop and realise that they also want a positive outcome. It’s in both of your best interests to work together to achieve a successful sale, particularly since the estate agent is an experienced professional.
- It can be helpful to conduct some research into other pending real estate sales in your region. Look at how long these homes had to sit on the market before they reduced their price. Although you can’t find out what the final selling price is of a pending sale, you can still find out the average percentage that sellers have been dropping their prices.
- Price comparison between current listings and recently sold homes can also be quite helpful. By analysing these, you can see which price range is working and which homes are selling for more. This can help you adjust your own property price.
- The history of current homes that are still on the market should be looked at with your agent. Look at the length of time that they have sat on the market. It’s not worth your while to look at homes that haven’t reduced their prices, unless they are exceedingly similar to your own property and have just entered the market.
- Compare your property with similar homes that are selling in a similar price range. It’s a good idea to ensure that your sale price is in the cheaper 40% of the other listed homes. If you really need to sell your property quickly, you can price it lower than all competing houses.
Setting a Price too Low
Don’t be too worried about setting the sale price too low. Even with a cold real estate market, buyers will be looking for a bargain. If your home is priced at a lower rate than its competitors, this will automatically make it more attractive to buyers, and you should attract a wider range of offers. Grabbing the initial attention of buyers is half the battle. They will then need to outdo each other’s offers, which will help drive the actual sale price up. In fact, you may see a final sale price that’s higher than the original price. If you set the right sale price, you can expect to do brisk business.
A qualified real estate agent will be a good guide when it comes to pricing your property effectively. It’s helpful to choose a local agent who is familiar with similar homes in your neighbourhood, as they can help compare your property to find a realistic sale price. Compare agents in your local area at LocalAgentFinder. Register now to increase your chances of finding the right fit to sell your house even in a sluggish market.
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