How do you get the best price for your home?

How do you get the best price for your home?

Answer:

When you put your house on the market for the first time make sure it is at the correct market value — do not be tempted to ask for a price that is more than it is worth.

Whilst the reasons may be subtle, this is more important today than ever and worth understanding.

Please read on…

One of the biggest mistakes people make when selling their house is to be tempted (often encouraged by inexperienced estate agents desperate for your instructions) to put their house on the market for a lot more than it is worth.

Now, I’m not saying that you cannot push your luck a little.

But, if you overprice your house when it is first put on the market you risk ruining your chances of selling it at the best price.

People looking to buy houses today have access to a huge amount of information. On property portals they can easily see what similar houses are worth in long lists scrolling down their screens. If your house looks expensive they’ll just keep scrolling past your house. (There’s a whole subject dedicated to making your house looks its’ best online — but that’s for another day).

Consider this…

When your house first goes on the market you will immediately come to the attention of a large group of eager house hunters all looking for their ideal property. They’ll get phone calls, brochures and emails — and many will see it on Facebook too.

If your house is overpriced they will ignore it.

And this was your one big chance to capture their interest.

Your house is now left sitting on the internet waiting for new buyers to come along — just one at a time.

Eventually, you will have to reduce your price. People will notice this — Zoopla even highlights price reductions.

Now, potential buyers will ask themselves “What is wrong with this house?”

If others don’t want to buy your house nor will they. You are now on the slippery slope to having to sell your house for less than it is worth.

In the good old days…

Before the internet, you could politely sack your estate agent, and start again with a new agent. New particulars, an adjusted price and nobody knew any different.

Not now, the property portals track house price histories, potential purchasers still have the old emails with your original inflated price.

It’s hard to recover.

Our advice…

To avoid all this heartache, we recommend that you find a good local estate agent — one that has years of local experience selling houses like yours.

Ask them what they think your house would sell for.

And then challenge them, ask them why they are confident that it will make that price and to show you evidence of similar properties that have sold recently in your area.

By all means add a thousand or two (or ten even) for luck and to offer a bit of negotiating room — so the buyer can offer a little under the asking price.

Buyers like to feel that they have bought well — and you still get the best price (the right price).

And, chances are, you will sell your property in a reasonable time, often in the first few weeks.

With your house under offer you are now in a great position to get on with buying your next home.