Wellingtonians 🏠 These Sellers Shot Themselves in The Foot...

Sellers beware!!!  You can unwittingly make really bad real estate decisions if you don’t have the right information.  Read on to know the risks and how to manage them. Here are some real examples where sellers have shot themselves in the foot:

• Rejecting an offer believing it’s far too low, only to later find it was a very good offer and the next offers that come in are all a lot less.

• Being on the market too long and missing the ‘premium market window’ - properties sitting on the market too long rarely sell for their expected value.

• Being pleased to be sold in a flash, as an agent wheeled someone straight around, not realising the property sold well below its potential.

• Selling privately thinking they’ve saved heaps on real estate fees, not realising they’ve sold well below the property’s real market value and lost a lot of money.

You can protect yourself by... Firstly, Starting with a Sound ‘Analytical’ Appraisal:

Getting this in the beginning can save you a literal disaster.  Don’t go with a generous guess, an opinion or a website estimate, you need a rigorous analytical assessment supported by evidence.  Sellers have a bias to love their property more than most others AND agents have a bias to acquire listings.  You can guess the worst combination... it’s a seller with unrealistically high expectations for their property sale paired-up with an agent who is not analytical and who can’t manage conflict... or isn’t being honest.  Once together, strap in for a shared ride of disappointment to destination ‘not sold’, ‘sold under market value’ or, ‘got lucky in a seller’s market’ though more likely ending in tears and certainly not a high-five! If someone is saying to you ’no one knows the value or the market’… I’m afraid that is just a load of rubbish!  If you spend enough time analysing comparable recent sales, are analytical, and have good judgement for assumptions and inference, you’ll get a pretty reasonable estimate most of the time for a price ‘entry point’ an ‘upper limit’ and the space that lies in-between, being ‘range’ to test offers against. Once on the market, don’t miss the opportunity to ask and listen to the market as it is dynamic and you CAN correct for it. Secondly, Obtaining and 'LISTENING' to Real Time Market Feedback:

If you really want to know what a property is worth, and to know the range for it, there’s no better way than through a robust marketing campaign the engages the whole market and obtains market feedback.  It’s more accurate than a registered valuation. In terms of feedback there will be ‘outliers’ to take with a big grain of salt… some people will have too low a price expectation and some too high.  BUT, if there’s been 70 active buyers through your property giving their price opinion of value in the marketplace... then they can’t all be wrongin understanding what the range actually is can they?   When hiring an agent service make sure you understand what feedback you will be getting once on the market and whether you’ll be getting written feedback reports, as without this you’ll have no idea how the market is actually seeing your property, what you need to change and how quickly, and what the market range is to understand whether an offer when it arrives is about right, low or premium-level.  This is particularly important if setting an ‘Asking Price’ as if it’s too far away from where buyers will see value there will be no action or progress. Of-course these things can be changed when you have the intel. Thirdly, Act Quickly to Avoid Being on the Market too Long:

Once you have the information flowing it’s important to assess as you go and make changes quickly.  When you have made a change you should generally see the full market response to that change within a couple of weeks, so if nothing is happening further change or ‘tweaking’ is needed to get into the zone for a good result.  That change can be any number of things.Sellers can have a lot more influence on their selling result than most realise.And Lastly, Creating Value – Real and Perceived!  Lastly, a property is worth as the old adage says…‘what a buyer will offer and a seller will accept’.In reality, there’s a range of possible sale results your property can achieve and what happens will come down to these five factors for a given market:

1. How well is your property prepared for market?

2. How well is your property marketed for the ‘right buyers’ in high quantity?

3. Is there competition to purchase?

4. How good are your agents are at working with buyers and negotiating prices?

5. How good your agents are at both seeing AND managing risks that can crash sales?

The difference on these factors is generally up to another 15% on your sale result.  It can see a property selling at $920,000 instead of $800,000.  And the reverse is true when done poorly and offers and a sale comes in under $700,000 when it could have been a lot more.  As property is most people’s biggest asset it pays to get this right in order to find its true value.   With Spring just around the corner now is the time to start with a solid appraisal and expert advice on preparation to set up your upcoming success.  We’re booking in market estimates and preparation plans NOW.  To hold a spot get in touch by email, text or call.  No fuss, no sales pitch, just service (call 027 518 0008 or email leonieandsteve@harcourts.co.nz).  P.S. A property we sold this week had 63 buyer groups through in 3 weeks and multiple offers.  We have serious and motivated buyers we are working with who are looking for their next forever home and ready to push go.  Buyers often don’t mind waiting to get in once they find and secure the right property.  To explore a possible match for your property get in touch.