Sold!
It is a buyers’ market, and it is taking longer and becoming more difficult to sell a property – even more so to achieve the asking price. Buyers are being particularly picky because the market is flooded for choice. Therefore, it is important for sellers to make their properties as appealing as possible.
Jenny Rushin, Provincial Sales Manager for ooba (formerly Mort-gageSA), says that sellers need to do the running now.
Tips for Making Your Property More Sellable
Drop the price
Price is the biggest inhibitor to any sale. To price a property correctly, choose three of the most active estate agents in your area, and ask them for a valuation. Says Rushin: “Tell the agent you want honest, realistic figures, then apply a margin in excess of this figure, depending on how urgent the sale is. Note that properties that are priced too high in a slow market, like the one we are currently experiencing, are unlikely to move”.
Improve the curb appeal
Do not focus all your efforts on the interior. Remember that first impressions are created as prospective buyers approach the building. Mow the lawn, trim hedges, weed flower beds, plant a few conspicuous shrubs so that it looks well kept and tidy.
Declutter your property
Ask an honest friend who has not seen your property for a while to advise you on what to hide away or throw out – a fresh perspective always helps.
Do not stuff everything into cupboards
Tidying up does not mean stuffing everything into a cupboard and hoping it does not burst open. Many potential buyers like to open cupboards to get a sense of the storage space.
Move spare furniture out
However, do not turn rooms into barren spaces, as they can look surprisingly small when empty. It is also more difficult for a buyer to imagine what the property will look like furnished if the rooms are barren.
Define each living space
Make sure each room is kitted out for the purpose it was intended – buyers will be better able to conceptualise a room’s purpose if it is obvious.
Consider home staging
If your property is sparsely decorated, selling it may require that you acquire new furniture to give prospective buyers an impression of how they would live in the property and where they would socialise. It packages the home through prospective buyers’ eyes by making it attractive to the broadest spectrum of the market. “Staged homes sell more quickly than those that are ‘unstaged’,” says Eril Wiehahn, owner of Design Tank.
Do basic repairs
Go through each room, and do any minor alterations you can see would at little expense improve the finish, such as touching up paintwork, filling cracks, regrouting, straightening cupboard doors and replacing or polishing door handles. Make sure you fix dripping taps, cracked glass panes and peeling wallpaper.
Clean up the property
And then clean again. Make sure that every room is spotless, particularly bathrooms and kitchens. If you have dirty carpets, cleaning them up or fitting cheap, alternative flooring might be a good idea.
Do not spend money on expensive improvements
The idea is to rapidly and inexpensively make properties more appealing to a broader range of buyers without having to drop the price, so minor paint jobs and sprucing up each room to an equal standard is key.
List online
Online companies like Private Property and SmartSell can usually move a property a lot quicker than estate agents can, especially in the entry-level markets.
Do not panic and do not give up. Accept that the time it takes to sell properties has become longer.
Story First published in REIM
