Blog

What Are Your Options If Your Property Has Been On the Market for 274 Days?

  • Tags: Real Estate Marketing, Selling Property
Recently I received a phone call from a worried seller wondering if I could help sell their property. This particular property had been on the market with a well-known agency and, to the seller’s complete distress, had failed to receive much interest or a reasonable offer after almost 9 months on the market.
If you are in a similar situation, or are wondering how to avoid your property languishing on the market for months – check out my 3 tips on what to do to get your property sold.
  1. Review the Marketing Package Your Agent is Offering
The seller that had had their property on the marketing for 274 days kindly explained to me the marketing package offered to them. Their original agent had placed the property on realestate.com.au as a “feature listing” – or the second cheapest listing you can have. This resulted in the property automatically being listed, from day one, at the bottom of page 2 (page one being reserved for more expensive “PREMIERE LISTINGS”) and every day the listing dropped further down as more properties were put online.
After 3 weeks the property was on page five (which, according to realestate.com.au statistics is seen by less than 15% of viewers), and after 9 months it was buried so deep that the chances of anyone seeing their property had dropped to less than 5%.

What Are Your Options If Your Property Has Been On the Market for 274 Days?

I took this opportunity to have a frank discussion with the sellers about the importance of quality online marketing and offered them our comprehensive marketing package which, while maybe not as cheap as some agencies, would ensure maximum exposure for their property.
When you are selling your biggest investment, remember that if you try and save on online marketing and go with the “soft approach” it could result in you missing out on the competition for your home that it deserves, and also potentially missing out on thousands of extra dollars! So make sure you drill your agent on their marketing package and why it is the best option for your property.
If you’re happy with your marketing package and your property is still stalling on the market, you have two other options to consider:
  • Finding a new agent
  • Considering a Price Adjustment
  1. Find A New Agent
There is no nice way to say this, but sometimes a property stalls on the market because of your real estate agent. Not all real estate agents are made equal. You simply cannot underestimate the value of:
- local market knowledge and experience
- marketing expertise
- an agent or agency’s database of buyers
- ability to negotiate with buyers
You are always allowed to shop around to find an agent that you feel confident with – however, before you draw up a contract with a new agent, the first thing you need to do is check the start and end dates listed in Part 4, Section 2 “Appointment of Property Agent”. Once this date has passed, you can switch agents. If you are unsure, check with your solicitor.
 
  1. Consider a Price Adjustment
While every care is taken by your real estate agent to price your property competitively in the market, in some situations you may need to consider adjusting the price if you just aren’t receiving any interest or reasonable offers. This should be your last resort – make sure you are confident with your agent and your marketing package first. A good agent will be the one to raise the issue of a price adjustment with you after monitoring the market interest (or lack thereof), however if your property has been on the market for months and you haven’t heard anything from your agent – consider my previous tip and look for a new agent!
 
The Result?
After 274 days on the market, the sellers agreed to switch agencies and we successfully had the property under contract in just 8 days.
Remember, there is always something you and your agent can do to get your property sold. If you are trying to sell your property on the Gold Coast, get in touch with us to see if we can help.
 

by David Hamilton


What Are Your Options If Your Property Has Been On the Market for 274 Days?
palmbeachfn.com.au May 2019
First National Palm Beach
Cnr of 6th Ave & Cypress Terrace, Palm Beach, QLD 4221

Ph: 07 5559 9600

Enter your email address below to subscribe to our newsletter.