20th January 2009
Price property sensibly for a quick sale
The UK’s largest independent estate agency, haart, says canny sellers will
benefit from the recent cut in mortgage rates if they bite the bullet and price their
property correctly in the first place.
According to haart, many sellers still have unrealistic expectations about what
their property is worth in the current property market. However, they should also
recognise they can pick up a bargain if they are buying, balancing out any losses
incurred.
Paul Smith, Chief Executive of haart, said: “People are still keen to buy, even in
the current uncertain market, and pricing your property correctly is the best way
of attracting people to view. If both price and property are attractive, you could
get multiple offers and be able to negotiate a deal that’s not far off the asking
price.”
However, prospective buyers will be put off by over-optimistic pricing, leading to
potential delays and other problems with a sale.
“It’s very tempting to ask as much as possible for your property on the basis that
you can always come down if you have to. However, our experience suggests
that over-pricing may mean buyers don’t even bother to view and will look
elsewhere instead.
“This could lead to your property staying on the market for weeks, prolonging the
inconvenience of showing people round, and possibly delaying important lifemoves.
If your property hangs around too long people will be further put off
because they’ll wonder what’s wrong with it.
“Delays can also wreck chains. No one wants their sale to be delayed by a chain
which has got bogged down because one of the vendors can’t sell.
“The cut in mortgage rates means we now have many more people able to get
cheaper deals; this means anyone with a well-priced property is now in a far
better position to sell and we should see the green shoots of growth returning
once more to the housing market.”
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