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Sales Tips from an expert
Saturday, February 21, 2009
Residential property expert Andrew Winter doesn’t believe there is such a thing as an unsellable property.He doesn’t make his claim lightly, offering more than 20 years experience in the property market, along with hosting the Selling Houses TV series in
“There is no such thing as a residential house that you can’t sell,” he said.“Everything has a price and if the price is right it will sell.” However, for those faced with a bottoming market, he offered some sound advice.
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“If someone is selling and subsequently buying in the same market at the same time, there really isn’t any problem. They may have to sell cheap, but they should be able to buy cheap. People looking to sell as a matter of convenience, however, should reconsider their position in the market."
If it’s a choice, a move or selling a property because you just feel like it at the moment ,or you might sell and you’re not sure when you’re going to buy, or you’re selling because you’re buying something else that you want to develop or move into, you really need to analyze whether it’s worth selling at the moment because you will not be maximizing the value of your home. Remember you can always rent a home out or put your plans on hold for a year.
Mr Winter said owners of established homes did not need to offer incentives to people looking to buy their homes, the right price mattered more. “It’s all down to the pricing in a market like this. Even if your home is in need of modernization or in need of certain work, if it’s priced right it will be fine,” he said, adding that a lick of paint did not go astray, as long as it was not overdone.
“I’ve said it for donkey’s years and it’s true – if you’re selling a car the first thing you do is wash it, strip all the crap out, spray the tyres black and give it a buff. Why not do that with houses? You don’t need to get carried away. I’m dealing with one seller at the moment and they are talking about upgrading the kitchen and putting in stone benchtops. I said: ‘Hang on a minute, I’ve researched your local market and there’s not a single house in your price range that has a designer kitchen with stone benchtops’.”
He said knowing your market was important. “Look at other properties for sale in the area. Look on the internet which will give you loads of information.”
However, Mr Winter said sellers need to get the price right above all else.
“I had sellers who had fantastic offers for (their homes) and they won’t take them. My usual answer to that is they don’t really need to sell,” he said.
“If you are a bit nervous about dropping your price, invite offers over a certain figure to bring people upwards rather than downwards.”
- The West Australian - Stuart Horton