While there is some caution in the current property market, there are actually some positives out there if you are considering selling your home in 2012. And here are some of them:
Focus: You can almost guarantee that those people viewing your property will be serious Buyers. In the past, window shopping was part of the game and ‘Sunday drivers’ made up a good percentage of the viewing public. Today’s Buyers, however, know what they want and aren’t about to waste your, or their time. We have logged a distinct shift in viewing patterns over the last year or so where viewing numbers have fallen, but quality has risen. After all, would you rather have twenty snoopers tramping through your Kitchen or five serious prospects?
Prepared: Today’s Buyers are organised and have their finances arranged in principal. They will have consulted with a Broker or gone directly to a Lender and will have a clear indication of their borrowing ability. More importantly, the Lender will have looked at the applicant’s criteria and given the nod in principal, subject to survey and valuation. It is generally expected that if they are dependent on a mortgage, Buyers should be in this position before viewing any properties. If they are not organised, the Agent should not be encouraging them to view.
Effort: Because transaction levels are far less than in the heady boom years, every sale is important to all with an interest in it. Gone are the days when income was rolling in for those involved in the property industry – it is now tough and any fall through hurts. You will therefore find that Agents, Mortgage Brokers and Solicitors are now working just that little bit harder to hold sales together, because they will earn nothing, or at best very little, if the deal collapses in an undignified heap.
Negotiation: Like it or not, Vendors are often at the mercy of the Buyer’s whims. The occasional property still creates enough interest to reverse this state and leave the Vendor holding the cards, but in general we are in a Buyers’ market and negotiations are often tough. The positive side of the coin, however, is that onward transactions can be just as robust with Vendor becoming Buyer, and satisfaction can be had seeking out a deal that restores any perceived loss in the sale.
Marketing: There is a fair amount of property for Buyers to pick from and run-of-the-mill houses are often overlooked. Faced with two similar houses, but one with better photos, description and size of advertising box, it is obvious which one a Buyer will want to view. The better Agents are taking this on board and concentrating more on presentation and imaginative marketing. We have turned around the marketing of particular properties that had been on the market elsewhere for ages, and been swamped with interest, so we know it can be done. Again, the market is forcing a try-harder attitude which can’t be all bad.
