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Don't delay after overpricing
Delaying the decision to do this, said Clarke, will almost certainly result in the home eventually selling well below its true value.
"As the weeks go by and it remains unsold, it will gain a stigma. It will come to be seen as flawed in some way and will not attract realistic offers."
For many sellers, said Clarke, selling a home on which they have lavished care and attention can be a highly emotional saga, one they dislike intensely.
"There will be a tendency for them to resent criticism of the home from buyers even though this may be valid. They will also often lose sight of the market realities and strive simply to get the better of the buyer in one way or another.
"In the current scenario this is foolish behaviour because buyers are empowered now to a greater degree than they have been for the last eight or nine years. They are also often far better informed than they were previously. The number of homes on the market has increased by some 20% over the last year and the average time taken to sell them is now between 12 and 15 weeks.
"Sellers will therefore often find that all the bids they receive are 15% to 20% lower than the asking price – and this situation is likely to continue for the coming year.
"In the more difficult market, sellers may be tempted to try the low commission or no commission route.
"Those providing these services have had limited successes, but the plain truth is that almost every franchisee in our group has at some stage been called in to rescue a seller after a disappointing experience in the low commissions or no commission's field."
One of the big dangers of this type of operation, he added, is that the potential buyer dealing directly with the seller will often assume that he can drive a hard bargain. "You cannot put too high a price on the negotiating skills and the market knowledge of an experienced agent." |
Posted on Friday, January 25, 2008 (Archive on Thursday, January 31, 2008)
Posted by hayleym Contributed by hayleym
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