Selling a home in the current market can be extraordinarily challenging. From flats to country houses, estate agents describe a market devoid of buyers.
Three in five homes listed for sale since January are yet to sell, according to property listing website Zoopla.
The average time it takes for a property to go under offer is at its highest since 2012, estate agent Hamptons warns.
That means sellers must work particularly hard – and even get inventive – to find a buyer and secure a good deal.
Most already know all the basics: declutter, clean the windows, mow the lawn, paint the front door and walls where needed, keep decor neutral and fix anything that might put a potential buyer off.
But when you need to go that one step further, here are expert tips you might not have considered that could do the trick.
Price unambitiously
Sellers are often tempted to try an ambitious asking price with a view that they can always reduce it at a later date.
This is usually a mistake.
Often, the longer a property remains on the market, the less interest it will attract – with potential buyers deeming the months of marketing or multiple price reductions as a sign there must be something wrong.
Price low, not high: Rather than pricing your home higher than your neighbour, price below them. You'll be the smug one when yours sells and theirs remains stuck
A bit like when you see an empty restaurant next to a busy one, human instinct tends to favour the popular option.
If you price your home below the competition, you are likely to get more offers and even a higher price than if you priced ambitiously. That is because a lower price could fuel that important ingredient that is so lacking among buyers right now – Fomo (the fear of missing out).
Pricing below other similar homes will boost your chances of attracting competing buyers, resulting in a bidding war that pushes the price higher.
Properties that have been discounted are twice as likely to see sales fall through, take much longer to sell and are more likely to not be sold at all, according to Rightmove.
Take your estate agent’s valuation with a pinch of salt.
Some agents overvalue to flatter the seller and give them hope that if they opt for them, they’ll get a higher price than with competitors. Then, once they’ve locked you into a contract, they’ll suggest cutting the asking price.
Do your own research. Check websites Rightmove, Zoopla and even the Land Registry for evidence of what similar homes in your area are selling for.
If you see a property has gone under offer, phone the agent it is listed with to see what price they achieved.
Ask any estate agent who values your home to back up their suggested listing price with recent evidence of what they have previously sold.
Test off-market
If you want to try your luck at a more speculative price, do it off market.
This is where you give an estate agent your instruction, but they don’t market the property online. Instead they approach potential buyers directly whom they think may be interested in your home.
James Nightingall, founder of property search service HomeFinder AI, says: ‘Some of the best sales happen off-market, before a property becomes overexposed or price-anchored online. Many of our clients have successfully sold this way.’
Mystery shop your estate agent
Don’t judge an estate agency based on the manager or valuer who comes round to see your property. They often won’t be the people doing the viewings and talking up your home.
Find out who the negotiators are before picking your agent. Make sure they are experienced salespeople whom both you and potential buyers will be able to trust.
Roughly a quarter of sales collapse after being agreed, according to property analytics firm TwentyCi. Even more reason to have an experienced professional overseeing the process, not a novice.
Don't be swayed by the person from the estate agent who comes to value your home... find out about the negotiators who will be selling your home
A mystery shopping exercise is one clever way to judge an agent.
Before registering with them, call up as a potential buyer and see how they deal with you, how they follow up and how polite or persuasive they are.
Some sellers go for a ‘multiple agency’ agreement, where they have several agents trying to sell their home.
However, think carefully before doing this because a buyer seeing multiple adverts online may see it as a sign of desperation or that something is wrong with the property and be put off.
Secondly, because there is less chance of a sale for each estate agent, the fees are typically higher.
Just make sure you keep the tie-in period with your agent short. Tie-ins can range from around four to 12 weeks, but push for the lower end. Otherwise, if the property does not sell, you may be stuck waiting before you can instruct another agent.
Incentivise negotiators with a bonus
You could consider offering an extra incentive to the negotiator who successfully sells your property.
This will be a bit like a tip and is separate to the main fee you agree with the agency. You must do it transparently and check that the branch manager agrees to it first.
Be clear about the terms and put it in writing. You could say, for example, you’ll pay £500 to the negotiator who sells at or above a certain price or within a fixed time period – and that the payment will be made following exchange of contracts or at completion.
This can prove a strong incentive for negotiators. After all, they typically get paid commission as a percentage of the total fee you pay to the estate agency. In practice, that can mean there’s little financial reward for them individually to negotiate a higher price.
Say, for example, that you agree 1.5pc fee for the agency and the negotiator receives 10pc of that. If they managed to get an offer for £410,000 instead of £400,000, you would get an extra £10,000, but for the negotiator it would only result in an extra £15 of commission (10pc of the 1.5pc fee).
Offering a flat-fee incentive could pay off. With an extra incentive, a sales negotiator may be more likely to put in the effort and, for example, even find potential buyers looking in surrounding areas if they have other offices nearby with a buyer database they can access.
Estate agent Nick Austin, branch manager of RiverHomes in Putney, south-west London, says: ‘It is a good way of getting agents focused on your home.
'At the end of the day, they are sales people and generally not part of mensa so they will concentrate on what is going to give them the most money.
'I would add they should make sure they are complying with the Bribery act 2010 and declare the bonus to HMRC.'
David Smith, partner and residential property lawyer at Bishop \& Sewell, adds: ‘It needs to be done transparently with the agency and not with the individual as a form of backhander.
‘However, in practice most estate agents I have met are pretty keen to get sales in all cases at the best price they can and so meeting with the agent and understanding their approach is likely to be a better approach.’
Have you successfully sold a property this year? Let us know your tips: moneymail@dailymail.co.uk
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