3 Mistakes to avoid when selling your home

3 Mistakes to avoid when selling your home

1. Overpricing

This is arguably one of the easiest mistakes to make when selling as naturally everyone wants to achieve the highest sales price for their home and rightly so. However, statistically, the lowest priced properties sell for more and the highest priced properties sell for less. This is a fact. If a property appears as really good value, lots of buyers will want to view it and likely put an offer forward. That competition (of buyers) will drive the price up to real market value. Think of a property auction... guide prices are set very low to entice buyers to the auction room - more buyers bring more competition, leading to a higher price achieved.

2. Choosing the cheapest agent

What’s the difference between an estate agent and a great estate agent? 4% of your asking price, that’s what. According to extensive research, the average estate agency achieves just 96% of the asking price whereas great agents achieve between 99-100%. On a £1m house, that 4% difference equates to £40,000 more for your property – this is not to be overlooked. Anything great, though at first more expensive, will offer better value overall. How many times have you opted for the cheaper option, only to have to purchase a better quality version in the end. As the saying goes: buy cheap, buy twice. Estate agents are no different; there are the good, the bad, the ugly, and the remarkable.

As an example; you have a house that you’re planning on marketing at £500,000. Agent 1 is offering to sell it for 1% but has a track record of achieving 97% of the asking price, and Agent 2 is offering 2% but has a track record of achieving 100%… which is the cheaper agent? Agent 1 right?

No. Agent 2 is because they’re more likely to achieve you £15,000 more for your house but only charge you £5,000 more making you £10,000 better off. That’s what it’s all about… the end result. After all, the ‘cheapest agent’ can quickly become the most expensive, as they say, ‘you always get what you pay for’.

3. Making the assumption that houses sell themselves

Irrespective of your views on estate agents, instructing the right agent brings so much value to your sale as houses do not sell themselves. Here’s why:

• Houses cannot value themselves at the correct level to achieve maximum interest.
• They cannot photograph themselves in a way to attract maximum viewings.
• They cannot describe themselves in a way to give potential buyers just enough info, but not too much… to encourage them to step foot through your front door.
• They do not promote themselves in the places they will be seen the most.
• They do not continuously analyse and review the marketing and make changes where needed to avoid stagnation.
• They do not arrange viewings in a way which creates a sense of competition and urgency.
• They do not carry out viewings in a way that starts and ends the viewing in the area of the house that the buyer is most drawn to in a property.
• They do not negotiate the best price for themselves (on average between 5-10% more than a buyer’s initial offer).
• They cannot follow up on viewings, addressing possible concerns and beginning negotiations.
• They do not negotiate the best price for themselves (on average between 5-10% more than a buyer’s initial offer).
• They do not progress the sale solving the inevitable problems along the way (chains collapsing, survey issues, slow solicitors, etc).