Getting good offers on a property is something successful agents do time and time again, making it seem easy for properties to not only sell fast but also sell for a premium. While agents do a lot of work behind the scenes to make this happen, did you know there are also a few things you can do as a seller to help get better offers on your property? This article is a guideline for people seriously thinking about selling in the future and should give you some tips of being active before your property is listed, and staying active once it has hit the market, including: • How to present your property when you’re thinking of selling; • How you can price your property to create interest and drive competition between buyers; • How to sell your neighbourhood, not just your house; • How to choose a marketing strategy that suits your property and your circumstances. Presentation Presenting your property in the best possible way seems to come naturally to some, yet it isn’t always as straightforward as it sounds. While there are varying schools of thought on particular household items (for example, some agents will always recommend removing family photos), the most important things to take into consideration are: • What you really can’t afford NOT to do. Ensure you are making the buyer’s decision as easy and stress free as possible by fixing any structural damage, replacing ripped or stained carpets, fixing leaking pipes, painting walls etc. anything that buyers can see, touch, hear or smell that will effect both how they think AND how the feel about your property; Read our full eBook- > 101 Tips for Presenting Your Home to the Market • Who is your target market? Staging your home to suit the target market will help them connect with the property and envision owning it (and potentially living in it), which means more offers for you; • Does your budget allow for professional home staging? There are some fantastic companies on the Gold Coast that take the stress out of staging your property, and more often than not professionally staged properties achieve better offers. Price Getting the price right is crucial! The difference between a good price and the right price is the ability of the price of your property to generate interest. A lot of interest in a property creates competition, which pushes the price up and allows you to get top dollar for your property. So how do you generate interest? 1. Pick a good agent. If an agent tells you they’ll list your property above market price, or $50,000 more than the last agent you interviewed, be skeptical. 2. Ask your agent how they are going to price your property right the first time. Agents are technically correct if they say “we can always reduce the price later”. However, as the graph below shows, you will never have as much interest in your property as in the first few days when it hits the market. If a property is overpriced, this opportunity to generate maximum interest is essentially wasted as buyers scroll straight past your listing and move on to the next property. So you may want to avoid the agents that have a “we can get it right the second time” attitude. 3. Consider an auction, but don’t be pushed into it. Auctions can create hype, with the end game being ideally to have a number of very interested buyers ready and willing to compete with each other for the property on the day of the auction A great auctioneer and authority on the topic is Tom Panos, who describes why one strategy may suit some properties better than others. Watch this short video here. -> Auction VS Private Treaty 4. Keep asking questions! Ask your agent how they are going continue to generate interest in your property throughout your campaign? Ask your agent what their marketing strategy is and how they will maintain buyer interest? If your property has been on the market for months with no reasonable offers, you may want to read this article that will take you step by step through your options. 5. Finally, get regular feedback. A good agent will provide you with a weekly report that should include all types of buyer feedback, including feedback on price. Getting weekly feedback will help you to move quickly to reduce an overpriced property or change a marketing strategy that isn’t working. Sell the Position I think we are all familiar with the expression ‘location, location, location’. The location of your property is a huge selling point for buyers which is why a good agent will not only be selling the features of your property, but also the features of your suburb. Agents understand if you can get a buyer to fall in love with the house AND the area, that emotional connection will result in better offers for your property. So how can you help? Tell your agent what attracted you to the property when you bought it and mention any unique features of your neighbourhood that may not be immediately noticeable. Ask your agent if they are going to do a promotional video highlighting your neighbourhood and don’t be afraid to get involved! Every bit of information helps, particularly the types of information that aren’t immediately available in a Google search. Promotion If you wanted to catch a big fish, what would your fishing strategy be? • Head to the same place you always fish and throw out some bait, • Choose the right rod and lure and sit around waiting for that big fish to bite, • Hire a trawler and haul in everything you can, big and small. Would your answer change if you only had a short amount of time to fish? If you weren’t in a rush and had all the time in the world? If you were hungry and fishing was the only way to get dinner? Selling your property can be a lot like fishing, so the type of marketing package you may be attracted to will largely depend on your situation. THE SOFTLY APPROACH The ‘soft’ approach to marketing a property involves the property only being exposed to your agent’s database (this, in the fishing analogy, is akin to your agent heading out to their favourite fishing spot and throwing out the usual bait). This strategy appeals to people that want a low profile, want to keep their marketing costs down, or may want a quick sale and have been told by their agent that they have hot buyers ready to make an offer. The ‘soft’ approach will get you a sale if the database is any good but this approach always begs the question whether more and potentially better offers would have been received had the property been marketed to a broader market? THE BOLD AND BRASSY APPROACH This approach to marketing a property involves exposing the property to the largest possible audience. This is more expensive than the ‘soft’ approach as it involves advertising the property through numerous channels, which should include property websites, newspapers and social media platforms. However, this method has been proven to get the maximum number of offers on your property and generate the maximum amount of interest and competition between buyers; you shouldn’t so much be thinking about whether you can afford the marketing, but rather if you can afford to not have the marketing? I hope this article has show how getting actively involved in the sale of your property not only assists in a great selling experience but can also have a direct positive impact on the number, type and quality of offers made on your property, which ultimately means a great price for your property. by Jordy Damsma How to Be Active in Getting Better Offers on Your Property palmbeachfn.com.au February 2017 First National Palm Beach 15 Palm Beach Ave Palm Beach, Queensland 4221 Phone: 07 5559 9600