No one likes admitting they’ve got something wrong. But if your home has
been on the market for some time and interest has gone cold, it’s time to
reassess the situation. Before you can determine your next move, you need to
identify if:
·
The price is too high and you need to
reduce it; or
·
Your agent isn’t up to scratch and
you need to replace them.
Consider dropping the price if:
- Lots
of buyers have viewed your property, but there have been no offers.
- An
open house generated lots of footfall – and raised eyebrows at the asking
price.
- Something
has changed in your local area that has negatively influenced the market,
such as a controversial building project getting the go-ahead.
- A
buyer withdraws an offer because their lender thinks the property is
overvalued and won’t greenlight a mortgage deal.
- The
asking price breaks the ceiling for your road/local area. Unless there’s
something exceptional about the property (for example, it’s much bigger than
neighbouring ones), the price could be unrealistic. Recent interest rate
hikes mean buyers are cautious about over-extending themselves.
- You
need an urgent sale for personal or work reasons and a cash buyer is
driving a hard bargain.
Consider dropping your agent if:
- Your
home is well presented but you’ve not had much buyer interest.
- The
marketing is lacklustre. The photos look amateur, and your agent is less
active on social media than your great granny.
- They’re
slow to return your calls and always seem to be full of excuses.
- You’re
underwhelmed by their people skills and drive.
But wait, there’s one more important thing…
While a modest reduction might be justified in some circumstances, if a
drastic price drop is required, you’re entitled to ask how your agent got it
wrong in the first place (and are they the person to turn things round now).
In some cases, a seller might need to drop their price and their agent
to get their sale moving again.
Contact us here at Cooke & Co Estate and Letting Agents for an
honest valuation and no-nonsense selling advice.
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