Have you ever wondered why some houses sit on the market for months while others seem to go under offer within days? It’s partly the property itself, of course, but the expertise of your real estate agent is also key.
In our experience as agents selling homes in Parramatta and its surrounds, a successful and timely home sale rests on three key principles – presentation, price and marketing.
Selling a house isn’t hard – if you’ve done your homework. By concentrating your efforts on these three areas you can ensure that your home sells within a reasonable time frame for the best possible price in the current market conditions.
Presentation
We all know that if you’re putting your home on the market, it needs to look immaculate, particularly if you are competing against a few similar homes. Buyers are incredibly particular and will be looking for a home that appears to be well-maintained as well as beautifully presented.
A good agent will know exactly how to present a home as desirable, and to foster urgency in buyers through great marketing and access to the property. While multiple home opens can be disruptive in the short term, showing your home at different times of the day can also encourage buyers to create an emotional connection to the home as they can imagine what it’s like to come home to it after work, or wake up to it on a Saturday morning.
On open days, your home needs to be spotless, with clean windows, fresh flowers, and a feeling of openness and space. You also need to ensure that any repairs are carried out in advance of the home being put on the market, as you don’t want to give the impression that the property comes with expensive problems.
Presentation is also about creating a buzz around your property, and an impression in buyers that they need to move quickly and are in direct competition with others house hunters. This means ensuring there are a lot of people through the door on open days, and having an excited crowd turn up for the auction. So invite your family and friends, and don’t worry if half the street turns up. Our auctioneers are skilled at reading the ‘energy’ of an auction room and knowing how to encourage buyers to place competitive bids, so you can be sure that we will get the best possible outcome for you on the day.
Price: In a fluid market, setting an appropriate asking price from the outset is critical. While you want to get the best possible return, striking a realistic balance between maximising your price and minimising your time on market is the trick.
This is an area where we can be of assistance, as we have access to comprehensive data and marketing intelligence about actual sales prices, as opposed to asking prices, in Parramatta and its surrounds. We know what that house down the road went for, we know what streets are the most sought after, and we know how planned infrastructure will impact on local values.
A property will sell if the price is right, and if a home is sitting on the market for too long it’s generally because buyers, having done their research, feel that the asking price is not in line with current market conditions. This can have negative repercussions, as it can lead to the impression that there is something wrong with the property. Sellers will sometimes end up taking the home off the market, then relaunching again a few months later, but this is a time-consuming and sometimes expensive process, and can be avoided by setting the right price from the outset.
Ideally your agent will present you with a couple of options here and you can choose your preferred approach, whether that’s an auction, a price guide or a set price. Doing your own research into comparable homes will help you make up your mind. Often, in our experience, setting a realistic price means you will attract competing buyers, which can ultimately result in a better outcome than you would have achieved if you’d gone for a higher ‘dream price’ from the outset.
Marketing
Offering the best property at the best price won’t help much if nobody knows it’s on the market. That’s why an effective marketing campaign, across digital, print and social media, is critical. It’s also why an experienced agent with deep local knowledge is the key to a good marketing campaign and a successful sale.
At Belle Property Parramatta we make the most of our strong media presence: we have a unique link to Belle magazine, we are avid users of social media, and we are passionate about promoting the properties that we list. In today’s online world, a real estate agent that reaches out to potential buyers through a vibrant online presence and social media such as Facebook and Instagram will be able to generate a buzz around your property that may ultimately lead to a better result.
Here at Belle Property Parramatta, our marketing is comprehensive and targeted: we create a unique marketing strategy depending on the property, the time of year and the current market conditions. This tailored approach means that the right buyers will always know about your property, and they will also be aware of its best features.
Talk to us
While the news may be full of doom and gloom about current market conditions, the key is always to sell and buy when you need to, preferably in the same market so any losses you sustain in your sale are compensated for by an equivalent price on your next home. Parramatta has an exciting future and as Sydney’s second CBD, and it will always be in demand as a thriving and cosmopolitan hub.
Whatever the market conditions, the right selling plan will deliver results, and here at Belle Property Parramatta we use our extensive local knowledge and experience to get the best possible sale for our clients. Please call us today if you are thinking of putting your home on the market.
