It would seem that no matter where you live, the Australian real estate market is very tough going. Of course, this same tough market is being felt by home owners around the world, thanks to the GFC.
Still, property is still selling. The key to real estate selling success lies in pricing competitively for your local area and making sure that the property’s presentation is worthy of its asking price. In other words, it’s all about helping prospective buyers, see your home’s obvious value for money.
Actively and effectively preparing your home for sale can be a critical reason for a home either selling quickly and selling well (even in a slow market), or not selling at all. All too often property presentation plays a much, much bigger role in the sale of a home than most home owners ever realise.
Here you’ll find the top 7 warning signs that the current decorating style and presentation of your property is preventing you from seeing selling success without you even knowing.
1. Your agent is showing buyers through, but you still have not got an offer.
If your selling agent is bringing prospective buyers through the front door to view your property in person, then it seems obvious that your home’s asking price – by itself, is not what’s putting prospective buyers off.
2. The offers you have had are well below your asking price.
If you’ve done all you reasonably can to present your place in a positive light to prospective buyers, and still the offers are low, then I’d say you’re overpriced. Plain and simple. But, if you’ve failed to plan ahead – to readjust your home’s presentation for marketing purposes on the property market, then it’s quite likely that buyers just don’t see your place as being good value for money. Buyers will ultimately charge you by way of a usually significant price reduction for anything they feel will need to be done. So this means ultimately you as the seller, will lose out.
3. Your agent has suggested you make a few changes to the decor.
Most agents are happy to provide you with some guidance in this direction. So, if they haven’t already, just ask them for a frank opinion. Sharp agents can even refer you to a home stager or property stylist who specialises in helping home owners, deliver a well presented property that’s far easier to sell to house hunters in your local property market. Don’t take the feedback personally, just take it on board. Selling a home and living in one as we all do on a day to day basis is a very different way of life. Ultimately for you as the seller, it will mean living with at least some level of inconvenience.
4. Buyer feedback.
Agents collect feedback from house hunters. That’s a big part of the job they do for you and another reason you’re not doing the inspections/viewings yourself. You see, buyers are far more likely to be up-front with your agent than they would be with you. If you haven’t checked in with your agent about this, do it now. Again, don’t take it personally. Just be sure to do something about it.
5. You have had at least one price reduction.
This is never good. Before you consider dropping the price, talk to your agent and then decide if you can attack it from another angle. It just might be possible that with a little effort and perhaps a small upfront investment, there’s a good chance you can get your property’s presentation to be more in synch with your asking price.
6. Your property has been on the market for 3 months or more.
A mere 2 weeks was once considered the deadline for a stale listing but today’s sluggish property market is tough going. Depending on the area you’re selling in, a 3 month old listed property is likely to be on the downhill slide to sales oblivion. If you’ve had the people through, but haven’t got anything to show for it, poor presentation can be a telling factor.
7. You have lived in your home for 10 years or more, and have never updated.
Decorating styles change. Once a home’s interior nudges double figures, the tell tale signs of a dated decor are more obvious. And home buyers (even first home buyers) tend to find that pretty unappealing. Don’t worry, it’s unlikely to mean you have to renovate; fast and simple cosmetic changes can still give you the edge you need, without eating into your equity. In this situation, it might serve you best to get a professional home stager or property stylist who can help you direct your presentation budget, towards the jobs that will see you get the biggest return on your investment.