First offers yield the best results for sellers

First offers yield the best results for sellers

Posted on Wednesday, July 24 2013 at 3:12 PM

Homeowners are achieving their best sale outcomes by selling in a shorter timeframe, according to RP Data.

The
market analyst looked at the level of list-price discounting applied for
properties to achieve sale over the past five years.

Cameron
Kusher, a researcher with RP Data, says sellers applying the right value at the
time of listing have better results.

“Getting
the price right in the first place is imperative – you can sell quicker and
move on to your next property. Holding out for a better price tends to
ultimately result in a greater level of discounting.”

RP
Data analysed national sales across monthly time bands starting with properties
sold within the first 30 days of listing, and up to those sold at 120 days or
more.

Over
the past five years, homes selling in less than 30 days have recorded an
average vendor discount of 3.9 per cent on a monthly basis.

In
comparison, homes selling between 30 and 60 days have recorded an average fall of
5.2 per cent with 60 to 90 days reflecting a 6.5 per cent drop.

Ninety
to 120-day sale periods see a reduction of 7.6 per cent and sales taking more
than 120 days have the highest discount rate at 10.1 per cent on their list
price.

“In
my opinion, if vendors need to ask whether or not they will get a better price
by keeping the property on the market, or give consideration that an initial
offer may be the best one, this week’s analysis suggests that the latter is
generally the better option,

“If
the vendors set a realistic price, they are more than likely to sell the home
quickly and with a relatively low level of discount.” Kusher says.

Brad
Munro, head of residential sales at Position Property, says sellers need to
avoid burning off early buyers.

“You
do find once you’re out in the marketplace at the right price, there’s a
captive audience already there because there are people in the marketplace who
have been actively looking to buy and missed out on other properties who will
come about relatively soon after it’s listed.

“You’re
dealing with someone who’s had enough of looking or finally found the one they
want, and that’s where I’ve found, in most cases, the best people (buyers) to
work with… those that have seen it early on in the process.”

Munro says sellers
can spend time and money with no end gain if they aren’t careful.

“You
don’t want to go to the marketplace and waste two or three months, and you will
do that, getting to the price point it needed to be in the first place.”

Ben Anderssen, owner
of buyers’ agency Property Chase, agrees initial offers usually yield the best
result for a seller.

“The oldest
saying in the world is that, invariably, the first offer is the best one – not
necessarily that the monetary value of the offer is the best, but that if negotiation
then takes place with the party that made the initial offer, a sale will
result.

“It’s possibly also why the majority of properties I buy for
clients at good value are the ones that have been on the market for a
while,” Anderssen says.

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