PRICING A HOME CORRECTLY IS THE KEY TO A FAST SALE: OVERPRICING OFTEN HAS DISASTROUS CONSEQUENCES
Category News
The pricing of a house, after the selection of the agent, is the single most important factor in determining whether it will sell fast or not sell at all, says Rowan Alexander, Director of the Cape Town estate agency Alexander Swart Property. It is thus of utmost importance to get an accurate valuation.
"The challenge that many estate agents face is homeowners who will push them to add 5 or 10% to the true value, as a way of testing the market. They will argue that the price can rather be negotiated downwards to its true level. Far too many agents go along with this strategy. It is easy to understand how some sellers and many agents adopt this type thinking BUT it is important to remember that it is a tactic that almost invariably backfires on those who adopt it. In the majority of cases, it leaves the seller with a property that sits on the market indefinitely which eventually sells BELOW its true market value. If you are serious about selling, the one thing you should NEVER do is set an unrealistic high price. Today's buyers are property "savvy". They are well informed about prices in the areas they favour, and have many comparable homes to reinforce their estimates of what your home is worth. Moreover, as the SA economy is not thriving right now and earnings have not been rising as fast as they did previously, they will be more cautious than ever".
All his experience, says Alexander, points to the fact that when buyers recognise the list price is a true, honest assessment of the home's worth, they respect the agency involved for its honesty and will be more relaxed and confident in making offers. The home will then probably attract several competitive offers and will sell faster than others. As a corollary to this, if the home IS overpriced, buyers are likely to call the seller's bluff by putting in ridiculously low offers. Alexander Swart's agents are taught to give wholly accurate valuations in their weekly training sessions and this has enhanced the agency's reputation throughout their operating areas.
Alexander added that when agreeing with an agent on a sale price for a home, it will pay to be aware that buyers are doing research on websites like Private Property and will usually call up data related to price brackets e.g. R1,5 to R2 million. If you feel that your home is worth slightly above R2 million, it will pay you to list it in the under R2 million bracket and forget about the extra R 30 000 or R40 000 you might possibly have achieved. The same philosophy applies in other price brackets: try to be just within a bracket rather than just above it. Above all, do not be persuaded to up your price in the hope that you may just find a willing buyer not aware of the going prices, or that you will later come down to a realistic price.
For further information, please contact Rowan Alexander on 082 581 3116 or by email: rowan@asproperty.co.za
Author: Independent Author
