Although residential property prices and market conditions remain favourable as the wet season approaches, First National Real Estate Cairns Central principal, David Forrest has advised homeowners to avoid the six most common mistakes people make when pricing their home.
‘Local dwelling values have remained quite strong over the past twelve months and, with stock levels remaining comparatively low, as well as low vacancy rates, vendors may be tempted to be less careful with their pricing’ said David.
‘The six common mistakes always lead to the same outcome; a protracted marketing period, extra advertising costs, buyer caution, and a weaker negotiating position.’
David said one of the reasons First National Real Estate recently won Canstar Blue’s ‘Most Satisfied Customers 2016’ award was because the network’s agents are focused on helping customers bring their properties to market with realistic expectations and an appropriate pricing strategy. According to Mr Forrest, the six most common pricing mistakes are:
- Ignoring research
- Choosing an agent who provides the highest appraisal price
- Making emotional decisions
- Pricing too high from the outset
- Overpricing because you are not in a hurry
- Chasing the market
‘It’s incumbent on every homeowner to do their research on comparable local sales. That’s easy these days, with so many websites freely offering recent sale prices’ said David Forrest
‘Combining your research with that of your agent’s advice and current market analysis leads to an accurate, realistic price expectation. From there, a complete marketing strategy can be tailored to suit.’
The national average for the number of days it takes to sell a property fell from 50 days to 39 days in September. This fall means that if your property stays on the market longer than the average, you could be committing one or more of the six mistakes.