Traditionally in any property marketing plan a quick sale is considered a good sale – and a sign of intense market activity that means buyers should make an offer or risk missing out.
But Harcourts NZ CEO Chris Kennedy says sellers should remember by selling too quickly they may be selling themselves short.
The typical thinking behind the pressure for a fast sale is that if a property sits for too long on the market before selling there’s a risk of it “stagnating” in buyers’ minds; much the same way diners might avoid a restaurant because they don’t see anyone else in it. If no-one else is interested it must be over-priced or have some fatal flaw, Kennedy says. But he warns there is such a thing as selling too fast.
“If you overhear someone in your neighbourhood boasting they’ve sold within 48 hours of listing, while your property has been ‘languishing’ on the market for a whole fortnight, do not panic. In fact, you should even feel smug – they’ve probably been sold short,” he says.
The time it takes properties to sell is often given as a key metric in determining the health of the market. The shorter the sale time, the more heated the market. While Kennedy says there’s some truth in that, it’s important for sellers to remember it’s not a competition over who sells first.
“The only metric that matters in reality for sellers, is getting the best possible price. And that means getting your property in front of as many potential buyers as possible.
“How can it ever be possible that any property can be put before the maximum number of potential buyers in 48 hours? Or, arguably, even a week. If your sales consultant comes to you and says they’ve sold in that time, ask them some questions about just how many people had the chance to make an offer.”
REINZ statistics for September, released today show the average residential sale time across New Zealand is 31 days. A day longer than that recorded in August. “That seems about right to me,” says Kennedy. “Particularly if you take into account the length of the average auction campaign is about three to four weeks.
“It’s one of the key reasons Harcourts promotes auctions as a method of sale. It means as a seller you have a set period of time, usually about three weeks, as mentioned, in which your sales consultant can make sure your property is in front of as many potential buyers as possible, with the goal of having competing bidders at auction. And it’s not on the market so long that buyers become jaded or wary,” Kennedy says.
He has a few recommendations for sellers who do find their property sitting longer than expected on the market.
“Talk to your sales consultant about the benefits of selling via auction. And then review your marketing plan with your sales consultant. Are your property ads prominent enough and in the right media outlets to be seen by the right target market?
“If you’ve had plenty of visitors through a succession of open homes without seeing them turn into results, have a long hard chat to your sales consultant about the feedback from those visitors. It may then be time to consider lowering your asking price, or looking at few cost-effective improvements.”
This above content retrived from Harcourts website.
