You could save time, effort and believe it or not, have more money in your pocket come completion day.
We all know that moving house can be an expensive and stressful process. The aim is of course to sell high and buy low – but don’t be fooled by the game.
Today’s property market in Hertfordshire is certainly buoyant but is also crowded by agents who can often engage in overpricing to win your business.
Think of it this way – a house is like fresh milk. It goes off; it doesn’t stay fresh forever. The time to get the best price is always soon after it’s listed for sale. Property can quickly lose its appeal as buyers start to question why it’s been for sale for so long and why other house hunters haven’t snapped it up.
The best advice is always to price your house at the strong end of realistic. To do this, you need an agent who can show you other comparable properties that have sold in that area to justify the figure you go to market with in that all important opening day online.
Always remember, there’s no use in looking at what’s on the market currently because those properties have also not sold – and could also be overpriced.
The key questions to ask your agent are what similar properties to yours have sold? What did they sell for? And how does yours compare?
When it comes to pricing your home, it’s important to remain both realistic and pragmatic. Go into the process with a strategic mind, not an emotional one. Many agents will overprice the property on the valuation in an attempt to flatter you and win the job, remember we’re sales people after all.
Be careful to protect yourself against this and do your homework too. If you’re signing up to an agent for a number of months, this gives them the opportunity to knock the price down over the course of the contract and leaves you wide open for more negotiations with buyers who can bide their time in order to buy at the lowest price.
Pricing realistically is a sure way to give your home its maximum market appeal and in most cases, a quicker and less stressful sale before you begin to get deflated with low, or no offers.
As always, if you’d like advice from an agent on pricing your home for today’s market, please get in touch and we’d be happy to help.