Compare Listings

House Prices: How to Sell a Property (And Get Your Full Asking Price)

  • Latest News
  • February 10, 2022
House Prices: How to Sell a Property (And Get Your Full Asking Price)

House Prices Hold the Key When You’re Looking to Sell a Property

If you are keen to sell a property, you have no doubt been initiated into the wonderful world of house prices, property purchase prices, and the challenge of getting the full asking price from your property. The property market is currently favourable for buyers, with the low repo rate equating to attractive interest rates for prospective homeowners. This means many South Africans are looking to sell a property with their next property in mind.

On the other hand, 14% of homeowners within the R3.6 million house price bracket are selling to emigrate (a fact that was included in FNB’s fourth quarter property barometer) according to BusinessTech. The net effect of these trends is that there is property for sale with differing levels of urgency and purchase price pressure. Ultimately, every property seller is tasked with providing prospective buyers with evidenced proof that their property is worth every penny of their asking price. Equally, every property seller ideally wants to get the full asking price on their property.

Is a sale without lengthy negotiation and compromise possible? In this blog, the property experts at Property.CoZa take a look at how to set your property’s purchase price, with interesting facts and information for sellers on house prices and how to sell a property as quickly – and as closely to your asking price – as possible.

 

House Prices: How to Determine Your Asking Price

For people shopping the property market, information is more easily accessible than it has been in the past. As a result, sellers are dealing with a more informed market than ever before. This is a powerful negotiating tool in every buyer’s arsenal – one that often results in lowered purchase prices.

Speak to your property professional about the best course in determining an accurate asking price and how to set your house price for purchase.

 

Do houses usually sell for the asking price?

Annual trends have seen properties spend less time on the market when compared to previous years. It has also been noted that the ‘list price to sales price is lower overall’ according to Property24. This trend has not been observed in the high-value property segment, however – with a reduced time on the market and selling prices observed closer to listing prices.

 

Factors Influencing the Attainability of Your Property’s Full Asking Price

  • The urgency of the sale. When sellers are in a rush to sell a property, the greater the likelihood of flexibility around the property’s full-value asking price.
  • Supply and demand. Where supply outweighs demand, buyers have greater room to negotiate in favour of lower property purchase prices.
  • The state of your property. The condition of property needs to be commensurate to the property’s full-value asking price. Where buyers can see that work needs to be done, it almost naturally follows that there is a price tag attached to time and effort that will come up during the house price negotiation.

 

Property 1
Property 2

 

  • If there are maintenance and upgrades that need to be conducted on the property that you cannot or will not undertake before sale, take the time to quantify these. Being able to show potential buyers that this has formed part of the arithmetic of the final asking price aids the negotiation process.
  • The quality of your property professional. Team up with the professionals to get the job done. Your property professional should be au fait with your area and will have the necessary expertise to argue market forces and other factors on your behalf. As a bonus, if time is of the essence, property professionals have access to would-be buyers who have expressed interest in your property type, property features, and area. They can draw on this database to assist you when you are selling a property.
  • Property marketing techniques. When you sell a property, marketing techniques are crucial. “Your property professional must be well-versed in the different ways to get your property in front of a modern property buying audience to best effect. A strong business and personal web and social media presence can be enormously helpful, but also being part of a national network can be beneficial to extending the reach of the listing,” says Walsh.

 

Have you correctly set your purchase price?

To make a sale, you need to be in the running in the first place. As a result of the information age of property mentioned above, overpriced properties stand a very high chance of being overlooked. Property buyers want bargains and value – and, generally speaking, they know the figures attached to both. Affordability is also a critical consideration for buyers and pricing affects visibility of your property to potential buyers over time.

Additionally, when you list your property, it is important to keep in mind that there is a psychology attached to changing prices. For astute buyers, this stands to be another bargaining tool in the sale process.

Avoid the urge to price to negotiate. Rather, aspire to price your property as accurately as possible and clear value should attract sale potential rather than negotiation potential.

Enlist the help of a property professional to ensure that the final asking price is impartial and takes into consideration all relevant factors and market forces to be as accurate as possible.

 

How do you find the purchase price on a house?

Establishing property value is a multi-faceted exercise. Factors include location, comparable properties on the market, the state of the property market in general, local amenities, and features of the property itself. Find out more about determining the value of your property.

 

Sell a Property With These Tips

  • Address property maintenance queries in advance. For sellers, ensuring that property for sale is in top condition creates a first impression that has a bearing on worth for potential buyers. That said, it is often financially prudent to take a staggered approach to maintenance and property upgrades to maximise your return on investment over time. We strongly advise that you speak to a property professional about how to achieve true return on investment on these sorts of property changes to ensure you get the most from your money.
  • Take it a step further by getting compliance certificates, planning approvals, and plumbing and electrical inspections done in advance of selling. This is a strong trump card for sellers in a sale negotiation. “The Property Practitioners Act, introduced on 1st February 2022, requires property professionals to present a Mandatory Disclosure Document to all sellers to complete and sign at the time of taking a mandate to sell. The owner of the property is required to disclose any defects, latent and patent, as well as any structural issues, right down to municipal permissions and permits. This is to ensure the property professional is clear on any defects when presenting the property to a potential buyer, and this document will be signed off by the buyer when they make an offer on the property,” says Walsh.
  • Get a professional property appraisal or comparative market analysis done. It is difficult for buyers to dispute the data that comes from these exercises.
  • In a seller’s market, price your property a little lower. It might sound at odds with what you are trying to achieve. However, in the right conditions, multiple offers can result in hiked prices for sellers.
  • Understand the property listings. Many property portals include filters around price in brackets. Work around these brackets to ensure your property isn’t overlooked for being priced a couple of thousand rand too high.
  • Keep an eye on property for sale in your area. If your property is priced high when compared with other listings, interrogate the reason for this. If your property has strong unique selling points, make sure you can list these. If there are not strong differentiators, you may need to adjust your price.

Neighbourhood

 

  • Listen to prospective buyers. An unsuccessful negotiation is never a loss. Rather, it should be used as an educational tool. Take the time to find out why buyers believe the property should be priced lower. If they bring up some previously unconsidered factors around the listing price, this could be worth an adjustment to secure better chances of sale.

 

How to Know If Your House Price is Right

The following are a few indicators of a house price that hits the sweet spot:

  • It is closely matched to comparative properties.
  • The stronger the buyer interest (especially in the early days of your property listing), the stronger the signs that your property is priced right.
  • You receive an offer in the first weeks or months of your property listing. This, of course, will depend on the economy and state of the property market. In a healthy market, this is a strong sign around house pricing.

 

How Can I Sell My Property Quickly?

Here are a few tips at a glance to help you sell a property quickly:

  • Work with the right property professional, who will advise you on the best course of action at every step of the sale process. Consider the merits of a sole or exclusive mandate to ensure the agent’s full focus.
  • Assess the appealing factors and unique selling points of your property and suburb.
  • Ensure your property is neat and clean on show days. It may also be worth conducting some minor repairs.
  • Work with property professionals to ensure your property listing appears online and using relevant marketing trends.
House icon, calculator and percent sign. Real estate sale concept. 3D rendering

List Your Property and Work With The Property Professionals at Property.CoZa

Property.CoZa is a leading property resource for buyers, sellers, landlords, and tenants. Connect with Property.CoZa to partner with a property professional, list your property, or for the latest property news and online resources.

Related posts