Pricing your home to sell

the time that the property is held.”

Greta Daniel, sales and operations manager for Pam Golding franchise services, says a suburb’s ceiling price should be based on historical knowledge of the area and backed up by data that combines information based on the “repeat sales” methodology incorporating residential property transactions registered at the Deeds Office. Other data sources for the country’s residential property market include Lightstone and Propstats.

“There is a misconception that simply considering listed prices of properties advertised for sale provides a good idea of what these properties are actually worth. As these properties have not yet been sold, the listed prices may be too high, and some of them may have been on the market for some time. You should rather look at properties that have been sold,” says Annien Borg, PGP managing director in the Boland and Overberg regions.

The correct market-related price will ensure that your home is priced to sell. As a starting point, consult an experienced and qualified agent in the area to conduct a comparative market analysis (CMA) of similar homes which were recently sold in your neighbourhood.

“Although the CMA is useful as a basis, the general market activity, sentiment and many other economic factors must be taken into account in assessing the current value, which is where an experienced agent’s skills should come to the fore. Also, many properties have an emotional draw and it is not unusual for beautiful furnishings or a lovely garden to attract a premium price over similar but less appealing homes in the same street. The more buoyant the market, the greater a role the emotional factor can play,” says Wener.

“To get the best price, a seller will also need to pay attention to the preparation of the house to ensure it is appealing and well-presented for its price bracket before putting it on sale. In this way, potential buyers are presented with the ‘best buy’ for value in your price band and area.”

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