How to know that it is the right time to reduce your property.
Are you feeling lacklustre about your move? Is your agent telling you to reduce the price? If you've been on the market for a while and viewings are few and far between, it might be time to shake things up a little to get you sold. Read this article to determine if it is time to consider a price adjustment.
Trying to sell your home is a huge endeavour that we can spend months, sometimes even years, planning and preparing for. Once that decision is made and the for sale board goes up, it can feel like the hard work has been done. But, if you already have your home on the market for sale, you will know that this is just the beginning.
After being on the market for a few months, you may feel disenfranchised with the whole process by now. Once the initial excitement has worn off - the first 4 weeks or so will be the busiest - you have likely experienced a reduction in viewings. If you've been on the market for a few months, you might have only tumbleweeds by now.
If there is a slowdown in the number of viewings or your sale is going slowly. As a result, your agent might have suggested a price reduction to you once or twice. It is natural to feel some resistance towards this - after all, a lower asking price will mean lower offers, and that is money out of your pocket - but sometimes it is the right thing to do.
How do you know the time is right for you to adjust your pricing strategy? The telltale signs are:
- Slowing down of interest - you might have had regular viewing appointments initially, but if you see weeks or even months go by without viewing requests, then a price reduction might be needed.
- Lack of viewings - If you have only been on the market for a few weeks but have had no interest or viewings, this is a good indicator that your initial marketing price was too optimistic, and a reduction could be required.
- Low offers - If you have had viewings and offers, but they have all come in at low figures compared to your asking price, this would be a sign that there is good interest in your property but that the market will not tolerate the pricing. Read what the market or the buyers are telling you, and consider that perhaps the offers you are receiving are at the actual value of your property.
Consider your property pricing and adjust accordingly if any of these scenarios sound familiar. This is how to make the most of the reduction and promote it to entice buyers.
- Review - Take a detailed look at the marketing so far, viewing feedback, and comparable properties, particularly those that have sold whilst you have been on the market, as these properties have been more appealing to buyers than yours has for some reason.
- Reduce - Amend your marketing strategy and pricing with a new plan of action, ensuring that you are realigning your property with the market and the expectations of buyers.
- Relaunch - A new price and a new campaign will reinvigorate your marketing and ensure that those viewing figures increase, leading to offers you can negotiate.
If you have decided that a price reduction might be the best thing to do for you to get your home sold, what should you do next?
Get in touch with your agent to arrange a meeting for the review. Ask them to compile all viewing feedback, figures for online interest and comparable properties that are both on the market and have sold recently so that you can see clearly whether your property is correctly priced or needs reducing.
Ask them to put together a plan of action for your next steps and your relaunch to the market at the new price. What else can they do to inspire buyers to come and view your home? They could add drone images, twilight images, video footage or new photography.
If, after this meeting, it is clear that your current agent has exhausted all of their options, it may be time to consider a new agent. A change of agent can be particularly successful in selling your home if combined with a new pricing strategy. You can tap into new buyers on their database that your current agent may not have.
If you think that a change of agent is right for you now, why get in touch with By Design for a fresh approach to selling unique and premium properties.