Selling property in Spring, August 2003

SHOULD YOU SELL IN SPRING? August 2003

The strong scent of jasmine is in the air, the garden looks great and you’ve finally cleaned the house - is it time to cash in and put your house on the market during the busiest selling season of the year?
“The weather itself means that even inner city properties which don’t have much garden are presented at their best - Spring is one of those times of year when you can make your house look the most presentable for the least cost,” says NSW Real Estate Institute’s Rowen Kelly.
“Our figures show that for the last eight years, the September quarter has the highest volumes of any time of the year.”
The only drawback of the busy Spring selling season is the extra competition from the large amount of houses available for sale, although the large numbers of buyersaround should compensate.
So what tips should you arm yourself with if you make the gut-wrenching decision to sell up and move? Read on.
1. Be prepared for the rollercoaster
Don’t kid yourself that selling your house is an easy way to make big bucks. Selling not only means finding somewhere else to live, it also means enduring the agony of having people traipse through your house for open inspections and commenting on everything from the colour scheme to the style of garden.
Unless you are in the lucky position of trading down – buying a cheaper house than the one you currently own – or selling an investment property, stress about money and negative feedback about your decore will get to you.
“The emotions involved are extreme and I think it helps if people sit down and write a checklist about what they want to achieve from the sale, where they want to live next and what type of agent they want to help them through the process,” says L.J. Hooker Bondi Junction’s Sandra Andrian.
2. Prepare your finances
Sellers are either upgrading into a better property or downgrading to free up funds for retirement or investment. Either way, the ugly issue of money is paramount.
Sellers need to be clear just how much money they need from a house sale and then be realistic about whether they can achieve the price they want.
Di Jones agent Leanne Katte says vendors sometimes base their asking price on the money they need to clear from a house sale.
“Your house isn’t worth what you or the agent think it’s worth – it’s worth what the market will pay,” she says.
Kelly says it is important to make your futureplans based on the most pessimistic price you will achieve selling your home.
“Everybody thinks their property is worth more than the buyers think its worth so it’s important to be realistic about price,” he says.
See a mortgage broker or lender for pre-approval for finance if you want to upgrade – and base your plans on the worst case scenario.
3. Know the local market
To get a realistic idea of what your house is worth, you need to do research. The most vital research will be recent house sales in your street. These are the sales most comparable to the value of your own home.
Find out whether local property sells by private treaty or auction and assess which local agents have sold the most listings near your home.
Use resources like Home Price Guide or check the auction results in the weekend newspapers to get a handle on house prices.
4. Decide to call in an agent or go it alone.
Brave homeowners with time on their hands can try to save agency commissions by selling privately.
Most people prefer an experienced agent to hold their hand during the process and close a sale during a three to six-week selling campaign.
Selling a house is time consuming and requires high level negotiation skills that many people do not have. By all means investigate selling privately if you really hate the idea of using a real estate agent, but read up on the best methods.
Even if you do decide to sell privately, it is worth speaking to at least two local agents to seek their opinion of price and suggested marketing options.
5. Choosing an agent
This is the hard bit. Agents will compete hard for your listing and they will seem fantastic while wooing you to sign an agency agreement – remember, agents negotiate for a living and they are very good at talking you into things.
Call three local agents to come and appraise your house and ask them for their opinion on price and suggested marketing options and costs.
Most agents will negotiate on marketing costs or commission to snare your business, so do all the negotiating before you sign the agency agreement which locks you into selling with them.
You will have to pay marketing and advertising costs, regardless of whether you sell and these can range from $1200 to $30,000 depending on where your property is located. A general rule of thumb is to spend around one per cent of the value of your property on marketing.
Under new legislation, you have a 24-hour cooling off period after signing an agency agreement but many agents will ask you to sign to waive this cooling off period – be aware.
6. Private treaty or auction?
Agents will suggest the best method for selling your property – generally high demand areas like beachside or inner city suburbs often sell at auction while other areas rely on private treaty.
Ray White Real Estate’s Fiona Ziff says buyers should beware of agents talking people into high stress auction campaigns.
“Auctions don’t always get the best price. If you have a half a million dollar property and the two bidders can afford $450,000 or $550,000 respectively, then the $550,000 buyer can buy the place for $451,000,” she says.
“If that same property went on the market at $510,000 then the $450,000 buyer could choose to come up to meet the price and the vendor would get $10,000 over market value.”
7. A Spring spruce-up.
It’s far too late to bring in the builders and renovate but presenting a clean and tidy house to the market is paramount if you are selling a house.
There is no need to repaint – buyers would prefer to do that themselves and choose their own colours.
Kelly says a house can be in dire need of modernising but still be highly desirable if it is clean and tidy.
Katte says most homeowners get used to the clutter around them and they should aim to get rid of half the contents of their house to prepare for sale.
Kelly suggests spending the most money on making your house look presentable from the street.
“The outside of the house is more important than the inside as a lot of interested buyers will drive by your house three or four times but only come to one or two open inspections,” he says.
8. … and the campaign has begun.
An auction marketing campaign will last three to four weeks with one weekend and one weekday open inspection at set times. A private treaty campaign can take a lot longer depending on the asking price.
Regardless of the sale method, all agents have a handle on how “hot” the property is after two weeks on the market.
“You judge by numbers of groups through, rates of inquiry from newspaper or internet ads and feedback from the people coming through the opens,” says Andrian.
Two weeks into the campaign is a good time to sit down with your agent and get feedback on realistic price expectations and how to proceed – many auction campaigns can become pseudo private treaty campaigns at this stage as the agent works to get offers from potential buyers before auction.
9. Price price price
Kelly says price expectations can have a 10 per cent range – so achieving a sale price within five per cent of your expectations is not really a disaster.
Andrian says the eastern suburbs property market can swing widely depending on the property and the circumstances of the sale.
“I have a valuation degree and units can vary by $20,000 to $30,000 while houses vary by $50,000 to $70,000 depending on demand – but anything can happen,” she says.
“I have had auctions where there seems to be no interested bidders and a buyer comes out of nowhere two days before the auction and pays a higher than expected price.”
10. And if it all fails …
If a property is passed in at auction or fails to reach a private treaty asking price, it’s not all over.
Sure, the seller may have to compromise on price but as long as it’s not more than five per cent then the seller isn’t compromising too much.
Kelly says even when the market is strong and auction clearance rates are at 75 per cent, there are still 25 per cent of properties passing in.
“The majority of those properties are priced too high or the marketing has missed the mark,” he says.

“If the marketing targets the wrong price range or the wrong buyer you can get a lot of calls but you might not get people turning up to the auction – then you have to put away your dreams of a blue sky price and go out and get a market price.”

CASE STUDY
Spare a thought for Rhonda Trevanion and David Howery this morning –their Dulwich Hill cottage is being auctioned at 1.45pm today.
“We will be edgy, no doubt about it, especially if we haven’t had any decent offers beforehand,” Rhonda says.
The couple have been thinking about selling and moving up to Queensland for two years and decided back in July to put their house on the market in early Spring.
“We thought Spring was a good time because the garden looks good and there is sun on our back deck so everything looks inviting,” Rhonda says.
“Also, we want to be in our new house prior to Christmas and this way we should be able to get something organised in time.”
The three-bedroom, two-bathroom renovated weatherboard cottage has had good feedback during the auction campaign, so Rhonda and David haven’t been too upset by negative comments.
“Some people have said they don’t like the street but I don’t get offended by those type of comments, I just think different things appeal to different people,” she says.
Neither have the couple found it stressful to keep the house tidy and clean for open inspections.
“We have been very organised and we had the photographs for the campaign taken a few weeks before the first open inspection, so we have just maintained the house since that time,” she says.
“It’s not hard to do a tidy up before the inspection on Saturdays.”


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SHOULD YOU SELL IN SPRING? August 2003 The strong scent of jasmine is in the air, the garden looks great and you’ve finally cleaned the house - is it time to cash in and put your house on the market during the busiest selling season of the year? “The weather itself means that even inner city properties which don’t have much garden are presented at their best - Spring is one of those times of year when you can make your house look the most presentable for the least cost,” says NSW Real Estate Institute’s Rowen Kelly. “Our figures show that for the last eight years, the September quarter has the highest volumes of any time of the year.” The only drawback of the busy Spring selling season is the extra competition from the large amount of houses available for sale, although the large numbers of buyersaround should compensate. So what tips should you arm yourself with if you make the gut-wrenching decision to sell up and move? Read on. 1. Be prepared for the rollercoaster Don’t kid yourself that selling your house is an easy way to make big bucks. Selling not only means finding somewhere else to live, it also means enduring the agony of having people traipse through your house for open inspections and commenting on everything from the colour scheme to the style of garden. Unless you are in the lucky position of trading down – buying a cheaper house than the one you currently own – or selling an investment property, stress about money and negative feedback about your decore will get to you. “The emotions involved are extreme and I think it helps if people sit down and write a checklist about what they want to achieve from the sale, where they want to live next and what type of agent they want to help them through the process,” says L.J. Hooker Bondi Junction’s Sandra Andrian. 2. Prepare your finances Sellers are either upgrading into a better property or downgrading to free up funds for retirement or investment. Either way, the ugly issue of money is paramount. Sellers need to be clear just how much money they need from a house sale and then be realistic about whether they can achieve the price they want. Di Jones agent Leanne Katte says vendors sometimes base their asking price on the money they need to clear from a house sale. “Your house isn’t worth what you or the agent think it’s worth – it’s worth what the market will pay,” she says. Kelly says it is important to make your futureplans based on the most pessimistic price you will achieve selling your home. “Everybody thinks their property is worth more than the buyers think its worth so it’s important to be realistic about price,” he says. See a mortgage broker or lender for pre-approval for finance if you want to upgrade – and base your plans on the worst case scenario. 3. Know the local market To get a realistic idea of what your house is worth, you need to do research. The most vital research will be recent house sales in your street. These are the sales most comparable to the value of your own home. Find out whether local property sells by private treaty or auction and assess which local agents have sold the most listings near your home. Use resources like Home Price Guide or check the auction results in the weekend newspapers to get a handle on house prices. 4. Decide to call in an agent or go it alone. Brave homeowners with time on their hands can try to save agency commissions by selling privately. Most people prefer an experienced agent to hold their hand during the process and close a sale during a three to six-week selling campaign. Selling a house is time consuming and requires high level negotiation skills that many people do not have. By all means investigate selling privately if you really hate the idea of using a real estate agent, but read up on the best methods. Even if you do decide to sell privately, it is worth speaking to at least two local agents to seek their opinion of price and suggested marketing options. 5. Choosing an agent This is the hard bit. Agents will compete hard for your listing and they will seem fantastic while wooing you to sign an agency agreement – remember, agents negotiate for a living and they are very good at talking you into things. Call three local agents to come and appraise your house and ask them for their opinion on price and suggested marketing options and costs. Most agents will negotiate on marketing costs or commission to snare your business, so do all the negotiating before you sign the agency agreement which locks you into selling with them. You will have to pay marketing and advertising costs, regardless of whether you sell and these can range from $1200 to $30,000 depending on where your property is located. A general rule of thumb is to spend around one per cent of the value of your property on marketing. Under new legislation, you have a 24-hour cooling off period after signing an agency agreement but many agents will ask you to sign to waive this cooling off period – be aware. 6. Private treaty or auction? Agents will suggest the best method for selling your property – generally high demand areas like beachside or inner city suburbs often sell at auction while other areas rely on private treaty. Ray White Real Estate’s Fiona Ziff says buyers should beware of agents talking people into high stress auction campaigns. “Auctions don’t always get the best price. If you have a half a million dollar property and the two bidders can afford $450,000 or $550,000 respectively, then the $550,000 buyer can buy the place for $451,000,” she says. “If that same property went on the market at $510,000 then the $450,000 buyer could choose to come up to meet the price and the vendor would get $10,000 over market value.” 7. A Spring spruce-up. It’s far too late to bring in the builders and renovate but presenting a clean and tidy house to the market is paramount if you are selling a house. There is no need to repaint – buyers would prefer to do that themselves and choose their own colours. Kelly says a house can be in dire need of modernising but still be highly desirable if it is clean and tidy. Katte says most homeowners get used to the clutter around them and they should aim to get rid of half the contents of their house to prepare for sale. Kelly suggests spending the most money on making your house look presentable from the street. “The outside of the house is more important than the inside as a lot of interested buyers will drive by your house three or four times but only come to one or two open inspections,” he says. 8. … and the campaign has begun. An auction marketing campaign will last three to four weeks with one weekend and one weekday open inspection at set times. A private treaty campaign can take a lot longer depending on the asking price. Regardless of the sale method, all agents have a handle on how “hot” the property is after two weeks on the market. “You judge by numbers of groups through, rates of inquiry from newspaper or internet ads and feedback from the people coming through the opens,” says Andrian. Two weeks into the campaign is a good time to sit down with your agent and get feedback on realistic price expectations and how to proceed – many auction campaigns can become pseudo private treaty campaigns at this stage as the agent works to get offers from potential buyers before auction. 9. Price price price Kelly says price expectations can have a 10 per cent range – so achieving a sale price within five per cent of your expectations is not really a disaster. Andrian says the eastern suburbs property market can swing widely depending on the property and the circumstances of the sale. “I have a valuation degree and units can vary by $20,000 to $30,000 while houses vary by $50,000 to $70,000 depending on demand – but anything can happen,” she says. “I have had auctions where there seems to be no interested bidders and a buyer comes out of nowhere two days before the auction and pays a higher than expected price.” 10. And if it all fails … If a property is passed in at auction or fails to reach a private treaty asking price, it’s not all over. Sure, the seller may have to compromise on price but as long as it’s not more than five per cent then the seller isn’t compromising too much. Kelly says even when the market is strong and auction clearance rates are at 75 per cent, there are still 25 per cent of properties passing in. “The majority of those properties are priced too high or the marketing has missed the mark,” he says. “If the marketing targets the wrong price range or the wrong buyer you can get a lot of calls but you might not get people turning up to the auction – then you have to put away your dreams of a blue sky price and go out and get a market price.” CASE STUDY Spare a thought for Rhonda Trevanion and David Howery this morning –their Dulwich Hill cottage is being auctioned at 1.45pm today. “We will be edgy, no doubt about it, especially if we haven’t had any decent offers beforehand,” Rhonda says. The couple have been thinking about selling and moving up to Queensland for two years and decided back in July to put their house on the market in early Spring. “We thought Spring was a good time because the garden looks good and there is sun on our back deck so everything looks inviting,” Rhonda says. “Also, we want to be in our new house prior to Christmas and this way we should be able to get something organised in time.” The three-bedroom, two-bathroom renovated weatherboard cottage has had good feedback during the auction campaign, so Rhonda and David haven’t been too upset by negative comments. “Some people have said they don’t like the street but I don’t get offended by those type of comments, I just think different things appeal to different people,” she says. Neither have the couple found it stressful to keep the house tidy and clean for open inspections. “We have been very organised and we had the photographs for the campaign taken a few weeks before the first open inspection, so we have just maintained the house since that time,” she says. “It’s not hard to do a tidy up before the inspection on Saturdays.”