14
Feb
Still not sold after 6 months!
Q. My house has now been on the market for almost 6
months, without success. Help!
A. There is no denying the fact that the market is a lot tougher
right now. Even allowing for that, however, 6 months is a long
time. So – assuming, of course, that you’re still happy
with your existing agent – I would suggest that you need to
take a completely fresh look at the situation together. By that, I
mean you need to re-examine every aspect of your strategy, from the
asking price right through to the way your home is presented.
First, ask your agent to do a new valuation – if possible
performed by a different member of staff from last time, and using
the most up-to-date market data to arrive at a more accurate
assessment of your home’s current value. After all, the
single biggest reason why a property doesn’t sell is that the
asking price is too high. If you are really serious about selling,
you may therefore have to bite the bullet and accept that the
market has moved, and that a more realistic asking price may be
necessary.
Incidentally, when it comes to agreeing a new asking price, bear
this in mind: the vast majority of people now start their home
search online, using price bands as one of their main search
criteria. If you want to be noticed, you therefore need to make
absolutely sure that you don’t fall just the wrong side of a
commonly-used price break. If your property is priced at
£355,000, for example, it will be missed by all those buyers
searching online with a maximum price of £350,000. This might
sound obvious, but it’s a mistake that’s easily
made.
At the same time, get your agent to a take a fresh look at the
condition of your property. They may be able to point out one or
two things which, 6 months down the line, now need sprucing up in
order to enhance its visual appeal.
A new main photo – perhaps taken from a different angle
– is also a good idea. People remember pictures – and
if they see the same one over and over again, they simply reject
it. Again, this is particularly relevant to the internet. People
searching online will often simply scroll down looking at thumbnail
pictures, and ignoring ones they have seen before – so a new
picture may well catch their eye.
Finally, even a small thing like moving the For Sale board to a
different position can have a positive effect.
None of these things can absolutely guarantee you a sale, of
course, but together they just might attract some fresh attention
from buyers – and ultimately, that’s what it’s
all about.