Good agent never more important
● Monthly Roundup is a Q&A with answers supplied by leaders in the NZ real estate industry.
What’s your best piece of advice for sellers right now?
Daniel Coulson, Chief Operating Officer, Ray White New Zealand: No matter the market conditions, it is important to ensure you have every opportunity to maximise the value of your home. This is even more pronounced at present.
What this means is that you should be deeply selective of the salesperson and agency that represents you and your home, your marketing programme and your method of sale. All of these factors are crucial to ensure you are given quality advice, your home is exposed to the broadest possible audience, and you have the opportunity to create a competitive environment for purchasers looking to secure your property.
Bryan Thompson, Managing Director, Harcourts New Zealand: The best advice for sellers right now matches advice that is consistent across all markets. Select a great agent, that you like and trust, one who demonstrates the ability to communicate in a manner that provides you the ability to make strong confident decisions. Once you have selected your agent, listen to their advice and recommendations, if you’re unsure, yes challenge them, but always remember they are working in your best interests so you can decide to take their advice or not select them to represent your property.
Your selected agent will help advise you around the presentation of your property and will work with you to develop an appropriate marketing plan. Remember you will be competing for the best buyers with all other properties available for sale, so you need to firstly attract all the buyers available, both active and passive, and then present your property in its absolute best light.
Finally, regarding price expectations, your selected agent will provide a raft of information, recent sales, current listings competing with you and their professional analysis. This information will prepare you to consider each offer or bid on its own merits and allow you to make wise and informed
decisions. The key to this right now is to look at today’s market; not one from previous years; or even for you to feel like you need to guess what the market might be doing tomorrow! Selling today will put you in the position to purchase again in the same market you’re selling in and given the increased choice available right now. Being a cash buyer is a great position to be in.
What’s your best piece of advice for buyers right now?
Bryan Thompson, Harcourts New Zealand: Buyers today have more available property to select from than has been available for some years, and this presents a challenge in itself.
The greatest risk is you’ll pass on a property that meets all your criteria in the hope that an even better one will pop up tomorrow. History is littered with buyers looking back saying I wish I’d grabbed that property when it was available, and I didn’t! To best prepare yourself to avoid this mistake, there are a few simple steps to take.
Firstly, assess your financial capability. This could be speaking with your bank or mortgage broker to find your maximum spending limit, or if you are in the position of not requiring finance, a good assessment of how much you are prepared to spend. Once you know your financial capacity identifying the critical non negotiables for
your next purchase are vital, is it location, school zones, section size or number of bedrooms etc? These decisions are personal and the shorter the list of nonnegotiables you have, the larger selection of properties that will be available to you.
Once these two key steps are achieved, it’s time to start actively looking for properties. A combination of searching online, in print, and visiting open homes and auctions will quickly build some market knowledge for you. You may find your budget allows you to buy a better property than you thought, or equally you may find some compromise is required to meet your budget restrictions.
Always remember you may find the perfect property in your first week of looking, so be prepared to act. If you are buying a home to live in, the price paid is quickly forgotten when you secure your perfect home.
Daniel Coulson, Ray White
New Zealand: No one rings a bell when the market peaks, and no one does it when it hits the bottom either. You only know we have hit the bottom of the market when it has started going up again; by then, it is too late.
Many factors influence the value of property, but it has for many years proven to be a reliable investment over the long term.
When it comes to your family home, try not to get too caught up in what the market may do next week or next month. If you are going to hold onto it for the medium to long term, you love the home, and you can afford it, then you should probably buy it.