Hello

OK, so it hasn’t happened the way you thought it would. At the start you had 3 real estate agents in, all said lovely things about your property, all said that it will be a simple sale and that you just need to present the house well, pay for some advertising and let them handle the rest. You know, sleep easy, you’ll be ok. You may have started with an asking price that you were happy with and now you’ve “met the market” and lowered your price by 10%, yet less buyers are coming through. Don’t panic, you have a few options, and your best way forward will depend on your specific situation.

​

OPTION 1) You have to sell as you’ve bought another house!

This is a tough position to be in. You must meet the market and you must meet it now. Forget chasing the dream price, if it was there, you would have achieved it by now. Meet face to face with your agent and discuss a plan that starts with a price reduction of around 5%. That is a massive commitment by you, so in turn your agent must make the commitment to get on the phone and speak to every buyer that has inspected the house so far and any buyer that they have on their database that is after a similar house to yours. It must be a call to arms and the agent needs to know that if he/she can’t do the job then someone else will be given the opportunity.

​

OPTION 2) I’ve got plans and I really want to sell!

In this situation I’d consider a re-launch, probably with another agent. It is a good idea to remove all advertising of your property and re-launch in 60 days time. Yes, you will have to invest more money on advertising but by far the highest advertising cost is the internet sites and the really expensive ones only charge half price for properties that have been online with other agents within the last 60 days. (Your current agent won’t tell you this!) This way you get a break and the chance to re-present to a new pool of buyers. Your house will be right at the start of the property searches, and it will be the exciting and fresh new property rather than the one lingering at the back end of the site, seemingly forever.

​

OPTION 3) You wanted to sell if you could get your price

OK, so you thought it would be a good time to sell and you could get a great price. You could take the same choice as option 2 but you may decide that it just isn’t the right time. Then shelf the idea if you are happy to hold the property. At least you have seen the property actively marketed but it just hasn’t met your expectations. Make sure that you are happy to hold though. My advice on a personal level is that if it really works better with your life’s financial and personal goals then perhaps accept the $20-$30,000 less and move on. Otherwise just reconsider selling in the future.

​

Most of the people that I have dealt with are in the option 2 situation. Option 1 is very stressful, but most sellers are forced to accept the best offer that they get. Option 3 sellers are usually in a position that they can just move on and try again in the future. Rest assured whatever position you find yourself in when selling that it is not doom and gloom and a good plan will help you achieve a great outcome.