Common Pitfalls
COMMON PITFALLS TO AVOID
Overinflated Appraisals
It's tempting to list your property with the agent who offers to market your home at the highest price. But this can be a costly mistake and can effectively devalue your property within the marketplace.
When you list your property at an unrealistic price, you risk reducing sales enquiries. The longer your property sits on the market, the more buyers assume there is something wrong with it...and the more room they have to negotiate down your asking price.
At Metrocity, we set a high but fair and realistic price within the current marketplace. In appraising your property, we take into account recent sales of like properties in your area, as well as our knowledge about the mood of the market.
Hidden asking price
Many agents employ pricing strategies that simply confuse the marketplace. For example, you'll often see properties listed without a specific asking price, or with a vague "offers-over-$500,000" or "by negotiation" tag. We strongly caution against this tactic as it reduces the number of enquiries from potential buyers. In our experience, genuine buyers prefer to work with a known asking price.
Multiple Agents
In theory, the more agents you ask to sell your property, the greater the chance of attracting more potential buyers...however, it doesn't mean you are going to get the BEST price.
Think about it! If you have three agents selling your property, and only one is going to get paid, what incentive is there for each agent to put their 100% best effort into selling it at the highest possible price? Each agent knows that the one who sells the property gets the commission. It's in their best interests to get a quick sale which they often achieve by convincing you to lower your asking price.
Our advice is to shop around and get to know the agents who perform best in your local area, then list with the salesperson you feel most comfortable with. Keep in mind that the agent who will be your best negotiator will be the one who will tell you what you need to hear: not what you want to hear.
Hidden Advertising Costs
Many agents capitalise on the claim that they ask for no up-front advertising costs. Often, this means that the vendor pays for all advertising costs upon settlement...saving nothing, and merely delaying payment for unnecessary advertising.
Most often, these costly advertising campaigns promote the agent and their image, rather than the property for sale. In effect, you end up spending your hard earned dollars to do the job you're paying the agent to do!
Unless you're marketing a highly unique property to a niche market, an effective agent with the right buyer networks will never pressure you to sign up for a major advertising spend.