When it comes to pricing your property... don’t be greedy

ONE of the reasons property will stay on the market for a long time is that the asking price is too high.

Having an asking price that is too high is generally due to one or both of the following reasons.

Either the real estate agent has inflated the price of the property so that they could get the listing and/or the owner wants too much.

While other reasonably priced properties are listed and sold, it’s the overpriced property that hangs around.

After a while, the owner thinks that the real estate agent is to blame and once their sales agreement has expired, they change real estate agent but don’t change the price.

However, if the owner is not willing to reduce their asking price, a different real estate agent makes no difference and they end up with the same result; no sale!

To prevent making this mistake, you need to have a very good idea of what your property is worth.

The first step is to find out what other comparable properties have sold for.

A comparable property is one that is in the same location, has a similar sized block of land, is equivalent in building size and in similar condition.

The same location means a property in the same suburb.

However, if you can’t find suitable properties in the same suburb, you can look in neighbouring suburbs, providing the suburb is comparable in nature; especially similar streetscape and housing stock.

Size does matter in real estate, especially in relation to the land.

Large blocks of land with wide frontage may also appeal to developers, not just owner occupiers or property investors.

When trying to value a house, you need to find other houses on similar sized blocks. If you are valuing a unit, you need to find units that are in similar sized groups.

For example, there is not much point in comparing a unit that is in a block of three with a unit that is in a block of 300.

In relation to the building size, it is the number of bedrooms that is critical.

The number of living areas and bathrooms is important but the number of bedrooms is the key component when comparing the size of a building.

Finally, you need to find properties that are in similar condition.

For example, brand new properties should be compared to other brand new properties and unrenovated properties should be compared to properties that need renovation.

Before you put your property on the market, do some research so that you can price your property correctly.