Survey shows vendors may have unrealistic expectations

COME selling time, everyone wants the best price on their property – but with prices dropping over recent months, are homeowners still expecting to sell for a tidy profit?

Surprising new research has revealed that sellers’ price expectations are out of line with the market.

The findings come from a survey commissioned by Gavl (gavl.com) in conjunction with leading data and insights company Pureprofile (businesses.pureprofile.com), to gauge the price expectations of 1001 Aussies who were in the market to buy or sell property.

A separate survey was conducted by Gavl to compare these findings with those of real estate agents. Gavl is the Australian-founded global leader in real estate auction livestreaming and bidding technology.

While nearly all (92 per cent) of agents said vendors have unrealistic price expectations when selling their property, in fact, 55 per cent of agents admitted that generally, vendors’ sale expectations are above market price expectations by $50,000 or more. A further 36 per cent of vendors generally had expectations up to $50,000 above the market price.

Given the easing property market Australians are facing, it seems there are still many homeowners who haven’t shifted their expectations – property prices are no longer selling for what they once were.

When consumers were asked whether they would adjust their price guide based on agent feedback on market expectations, half (52 per cent) said they would adjust it only slightly. The good news for agents is that a further four-in-five (39 per cent) vendors said they would adjust their price expectations to match the agent’s. To compare, agents were asked how often vendors take their advice for a listing price or price guide: 77 per cent said they took on their advice most of the time, while just 7 per cent believe vendors will take on their advice every time.

Gavl spokesperson and multi-award-winning auctioneer Justin Nickerson, says: "While the data reveals that there are agents who don’t have trouble managing sales price expectations, I haven’t met one who said this wasn’t a challenge. These differences will always be a factor for agents and vendors to work through.”