If your property isn’t having success in the real estate market, it may be time to rethink your sales strategy. Here are some simple changes that you can make to ensure that you find a buyer for your property.
The property market is a happy place for vendors at the moment, thanks to soaring property prices and lower-than-average supply. Even so, the current market climate doesn’t guarantee your property will sell. Unfortunately, not all properties sell the first time they’re listed. If it happens to you, here are a few tricks you can try to get your property sold!
Review your asking price
The asking price should be the first factor you consider. Is your asking price a true reflection of your property’s value? Does it reflect the current market?
The fact is, your property will likely sit on the market for a long time if you are determined to stick to an unrealistic price. And the trouble with leaving your property on the market for extended periods is that it can be harder to get any benefits from re-advertising at a lower price – buyers may have moved on, and the market conditions may have turned against you by that time. Do your research and ensure you’re asking a reasonable price.
Assess your real estate agent
Not all real estate agents are of the same calibre. If your home isn’t selling, could it be because you aren’t getting the level of service you deserve? Ideally, you would have checked your selling agent’s background before hiring them, but if not, scan their online reviews and ask them about their sales history.
There is nothing wrong with letting them know that you are unhappy or that you have concerns about the progress of the sale. If they don’t have a reasonable answer or won’t work with you to find a solution, it might be best to take your property to a new agent.
Revisit your advertising campaign
Your real estate agent will be able to tell you how many online views your property’s listing had and how many people attended inspections. They can then help you compare these numbers with the expected numbers in each category to help you understand whether or not your advertising campaign has been effective.
The most likely culprit of a poor campaign is inadequate photography. Do the pictures of your property highlight its best features and show the home off in its best light?
Another usual suspect is the property description accompanying those images. Together, the photographs and the property description form the bulk of your marketing campaign and should paint a realistic, ideal picture of your property that brings in your target buyers. If it doesn’t, it’s not doing its job.
Give your property a once-over
If you decided to list your property without completing any property maintenance or staging, this could be the reason that your sale has stalled. If there are too many cosmetic flaws, buyers may consider your property too much work for the asking price and will likely search elsewhere for a home in better condition.
Cosmetic flaws are relatively easy to fix and can go a long way to increasing the appeal of your property. Consider:
- Repainting walls;
- Repairing any holes or cracks in your plasterboard;
- Pulling up and replacing old carpet;
- Fixing leaking pipes; and
- Decluttering the home and yard.
You could also consider hiring staging furniture for future open inspections. This can be expensive, but if it helps draw buyers and plumps up the sale price, it could pay for itself many times over.
Withdraw from the market
While taking your property off the market may not be the most straightforward strategy, it can help increase your property’s appeal. You see, buyers are far less likely to be enticed by homes that have been on the market for more than three months, as many buyers consider such properties to be problematic. If your home has been listed for this long, any buyers who show an interest will likely try and negotiate the price down in the hope that you are so desperate to sell that you’ll take any offer.
You could be better off taking your property off the market for a few months to wait for a new cohort of buyers to enter the market. In the meantime, you can address any issues preventing the sale and return to the market with a fresh outlook.
Listen to advice
If your agent, family and friends are all telling you the same thing, it might be time to listen. Maybe everyone has been telling you to repaint your kid’s hand painted walls, or to remake the nursery into a second sitting room to attract a different market of buyers. Selling property can be emotionally challenging because it is, in a way, erasing your family’s history. In the property market, it is important to stay objective and see your home through a buyer’s eyes, so try and take on some of the advice you’ve heard over and over.
Refinance
This isn’t going to be a helpful solution to the selling problem, but if you are selling for financial reasons alone, refinancing your mortgage may be a viable option. You may not have to sell at all.
You’ll have to do your sums and make sure you would be financially better off in doing this but getting a cheaper and more flexible home loan could make a big difference to your family’s financial circumstances.
It may also help buy some time so you can put your property back on the market at a time better suited to market conditions.
Just remember to seek independent advice and work together with your financial adviser and selling agent.
Try to stay positive
Staying positive is an important part of your sales strategy. An unsuccessful property sales campaign can be emotionally draining and financially disappointing. Therefore, it’s essential to stay focused and positive, and not allow any disappointments to cloud your judgement.
If you’re in the process of selling a property, always seek the assistance of a reliable property conveyancer. Jim’s Property Conveyancing has offices in Melbourne and Brisbane and can provide you with comprehensive advice and assistance moving through your property transaction, phone 13 15 46 for more information.
