14th December 2022 / Sarah Lowry: Key Things You Need to Wrap Up a Sale by Christmas

It's safe to say that much of the FOMO has come out of the market, and some homes are taking longer to sell. According to national PropTrack data, it took on average 52 days for a property to sell in October, well up from the 31 days averaged during the last quarter of 2021.

Although today's vendors need a little more patience than those who listed last year, property experts urge it's not the time to panic if your home still has the for sale sign up.

Here are some key steps you can take:

Ramp Up the Campaign

A home left to linger for weeks on end as a private sale listing will likely have the wind taken out of its sails. A swift auction campaign of less than the traditional four-week time frame could be the right attention-grabbing strategy.

Although the Christmas period and summer holidays have typically been a slower property period, buyers are still out house hunting. The market doesn't stop, there is still quite a bit of activity, and many properties are still seeing good attendance at open for inspections. We highly recommend that you invest in a decent digital marketing campaign, to reach the highest possible number of quality active and passive buyers.

Remember, creating urgency isn't just about dropping the price, it's about creating the fear of missing out. Ensure that you invest wisely in your marketing campaign and combined with an agent with great enthusiasm, you can still get a great result in a changing market.

Consider a "Price Check"

A home can "psychologically depreciate" in buyers' eyes if it sits on the market for too long. You need to be reviewing your price regularly and make sure your agent is giving you feedback from buyers, so that you can make an informed decision.

Price corrections are a reality in a market where borrowing power has been significantly reduced in a short period of time due to rising interest rates. Agents who understand market value still attract multiple bidders at their auctions because if the price is right, the buyers are still there. Where the market sees value, the market responds.

Switch the Agent

It's important that you and your agent are on the same page, and that your agent is bringing the same level of enthusiasm as they were at the start of the campaign, to the current day on market. Four key drivers in real estate are: competition, momentum, emotion, and urgency. As long as you have an enthusiastic agent, you are covering all those four drivers. Note, a new agent can give fresh energy, but in isolation it is usually not enough.

If you need any advice in relation to your property situation, please give your local Fletchers area expert a call.

Source: realestate.com.au