It may sound simple, but the reason your home may not be selling will come under one of these ‘P’s’ or perhaps the ‘M’.
Purchase Price
Of course we all want the best price for our home, but the sad fact is, it is not the seller that determines the value of a home, it is the buyers.
Listing your property for an unrealistic price is the most common reason why homes don’t sell. When people are looking to buy a home they will look at comparable properties on the market.
We all know that when we list our property for sale it is a rare thing for a buyer to say ‘That’s great, I’m happy to pay what you are asking’ and it would be a miracle for someone to say ‘I think your home is worth more than what you are asking, so I’ll give you more.’
If your property is listed for $900,000 when realistically it is only worth $750,000, you will be competing with homes that are listed for $800,000 – BIG disadvantage.
Obviously if buyers see your home as being overpriced, it will be on the market for an extended period of time…. the next question potential buyers will ask – even if you drop the price is ‘What is wrong with it?’ The agent may become despondent as well – especially if you refuse to reassess your asking price.
Having your property overpriced presents yet another problem… even if you do manage to sell it at your inflated asking price. The vast majority of buyers will require finance to purchase your home. When finance is required, generally a valuation is too. The valuer is required to give comparables and a realistic valuation of your property. If the assessed value is less than the sale price the purchasers finance could fall apart. Short lived celebrations!
Setting a realistic price of your home should not be a difficult task if you do research and employ an agent who doesn’t just pull a figure out of the air, but shows you by recent sales and other properties currently listed for sale, why they feel your property is worth what they say.
Property Position
You may feel as though there is nothing you can do about the position of your home – and you would be right! We cannot pick up our home and move it to another location – and yet the position of your home will have the greatest impact on the valuation of your home.
In saying that – think of what you CAN do to improve or compensate for your location.
If you are on a noisy street perhaps look at planting a large screen of trees or shrubs, or perhaps a wall that will dampen noise. Look at glazing options to reduce noise inside the home. Try to disguise or reduce the impact of the problem.
Of course the best way of making up for a bad location is to reduce the asking price or offer other incentives like furnishings or equipment.
A good real estate agent will do their best to highlight the positive aspects of your home and to minimise the negative as well.
Make sure you give your potential buyers plenty of good reasons to buy your home regardless of its position – make sure you cover the other two ‘P’s and the ‘M’ well!
Presentation
Again take a look at your competition. You may be competing with shiny brand new homes in an attractive new suburb.
Ensure you home looks and smells fresh and well maintained. Your real estate agent will be able to give you some advise as to where it would be most beneficial to spend your money – and it needn’t be a lot of money. Ask them what you could do to improve your property – then do your best to do it.
For a more details on how to make sure your home presents well, take a look at the article ‘Would YOU buy YOUR home?’ This will give you ample ideas and practical suggestions to ensure your home looks amazing.
Marketing
You have taken care of the three ‘P’s, now comes the ‘M’… and this is all up to your agent – so make sure you pick a good one!
While the market itself will no doubt effect the sale of your home, a good agent will be aware of these trends and the current conditions and will implement a marketing plan to give your home the greatest exposure and therefore the greatest chance of selling.
Good agents will implement multilevel marketing plans. Today the internet, smart phones and tablets have changed the way real estate agencies operate and advertise their clients homes – both on their company web site and on other specialised real estate sites. They will also use other avenues to make sure your home is well seen.
These may include listing tours for area agents, newspapers, TV ads, open houses, fliers and local real estate publications.
Ask real estate agents exactly what you get for your money if you list with them – and make sure you get what you are told you will.
Your real estate agent should be willing to give you feed back as to how their marketing strategies are working for you.
If you dont know a good agent ask your mortgage broker who is dealing with your home loan to refer one.
