Sellers: Don’t Show Your First Offer the Door

You will have heard phrases such as a Sellers’ market or a Buyers’ market.

In the former, tactically, you can be more bullish on the asking price in the later you will need to be more cautious.

There are too few buyers in most parts of the country at the moment (London seems to always to be the exception) to do anything other than price your property realistically, some might use the term aggressively.

The projections for the housing market are pretty much the same for the foreseeable future: low volumes of sales; restricted mortgage finance available; confidence fragile in the face of rising interest and cost of living and an uncertain employment outlook.

House price inflation for most of the country is unlikely and prices may even dip again if more “stressed sales” come on to the market later in the year

An Estate Agent’s remit is to create interest in your property and to persuade potential buyers to view. The “proof of the pudding” is whether you get an offer on your property and how quickly.

Your ideal scenario is for one of the early viewers (yes it might even be the first viewer) to make an offer on your property.

Word of advice: Don’t show your buyer’s first offer the door if the offer is below asking price. It may actually be the highest offer you receive, rather than the first of many escalating offers.

When clients ask us to advise them generally on buying a property, we always tell them to find out how long the property has been on the market.

In the present market conditions, how long a property has already been on the market is a determining factor in how it should be valued.

Good properties in the right locations and keenly priced will not stay on the market for long. Fresh to the housing market gives you an advantage, which shortens over time the longer your property stays on the market.

If you miss the early market and your house remains unsold for a month or two, it is a sign that the asking price does not meet with buyers’ expectations.

When you receive an offer after such a length of time it is highly unlikely to be for the asking price (or near). Again, do not blow your Buyer out of the water and dismiss it as “derisory”. If you feel you really cannot countenance the offer, then are you really that serious in selling in the first place.

In both instances, your Estate Agent will earn their commission by negotiating a price that will be nearer to the asking price for you.