How to Avoid the 10 Worst Property Selling Mistakes Mistake #8 Overpricing Your Property (England/Wales)

Everyone wants to sell for as much money as possible (that’s only right & proper) however, there is always the temptation to “test the market” and ask that little bit more just in case the elusive “out of town buyer” shows up on your doorstep with more money than sense.

Once in a while you can strike gold with a buyer that has more money than sense but the odds of this happening are severely stacked against you. You certainly shouldn’t pin the success of your move upon finding this type of buyer. 

The more likely scenario that comes from being unrealistic with your asking price is that your home languishes unsold while all around you people are selling-up and getting on with their lives.

Buyers are just too sophisticated these days to overpay. The Internet allows buyers to instantly access all the property that’s for sale in any area. The up-shot of this is that comparing property is now a simple & fast desk-based task.

Buyers can see an overpriced home a mile off.

No one likes to overpay and if you’re tempted to “test the market” you’ll find no one is even going to come and view your property. If a house doesn’t sell within 4-6 weeks of being brought to market it starts to develop a whiff of staleness. This is bad news and today’s buyers are highly attuned to it however, if you price your home competitively you’ll have buyers flocking to your door. The more buyers you can attract (that are genuinely interested) the better, because this breeds competition & competition between buyers will force out their best offers.

Remember, a property is only worth what a buyer is willing to pay for it (you can’t force anyone to pay more, they will just walk away) & what a buyer is willing to pay is directly linked to what other properties like yours are being advertised (& sold) for.

Here are some other risks associated with overpricing:

- Buyer’s notice when a property has “sat around” for a while (or has more than 2 Estate Agents marketing it). They assume something is wrong with the property and stay away.

- It takes you longer to sell and so that’s more time you have to concentrate on keeping your home in a saleable condition. Presentation for sale is a chore and the less time you have to keep your home surgically clean the less hassle for you.

- The longer your house is on the market the longer you have to wait until you can safely go out there and confidently offer on your new home. In the meantime someone else might be in the process of buying it.

- Even if you do snag a buyer at an over-inflated price their mortgage lender will be sending round a Charted Surveyor to perform a valuation survey.

If the valuation surveyor deems your house to be overpriced you can say “bye-bye” to your buyer (or at best find yourself in the position where you’ll have to reduce your price to make the sale).

This last point is often overlooked so please keep it mind.

What mortgage-lending institutions think your property is worth is important and in light of this fact, going the extra mile & making an effort for the valuation surveyor’s visit is a really good plan:

Try to be there for the visit so you can answer any question the Surveyor may have. Have your Estate Agent prepare a report of “comparables” to show the surveyor (i.e. provide him with proof that your property is worth the agreed sale price). Present your house as if the surveyor is a prospective buyer.

Written by Gavin Brazg - www.TheAdvisory.co.uk

Use these links to view the other 9 Mistakes 

Mistakes 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6 - 7 - 9 - 10