With over 90 years experience selling homes, we’ve found there are four key elements that underpin all great real estate sales campaigns:
- Choosing the right method of sale,
- Having a comprehensive marketing plan,
- Styling the property sell and
- Getting the right pricing strategy.
Let’s have a look at these in more detail.
Choosing the right method of sale
There are a number of sales methods you can choose from when selling your home. It’s important you talk to your real estate agent as to which method they believe is right for you and your property in order for you to achieve the highest sales price. Certain areas and certain properties within an area will achieve better results when sold via private treaty vs auction and vice versa. So make sure you do your research and talk to your agent about the best method of sale for your property.
The four main methods are:
Selling by Auction
An auction is a private sale held at a specific place, time and date following a marketing campaign over several weeks. A licensed real estate agent will conduct the auction which is governed by strict rules and regulations. These differ in each state and territory so to find out what they are for your area click here.
An auction by nature creates urgency as there is a definitive time in which the buyer must act or they risk losing their opportunity to buy the property. Setting an auction date groups all interested buyers together at the one time, creating a competitive environment and the greatest chance to achieve the highest possible price. The theory of an auction is that your home will sell at true market value at that particular time.
Once the hammer falls, the property is sold and there is generally no cooling off period for the buyer or the seller. Buyers need to conduct building inspections and ensure their finance is approved prior to bidding at the auction. If the property fails to sell at auction, you can continue marketing the property with an asking price. It is likely that one of the buyers, often the highest bidder will come forward and negotiate a sale with the agent on your behalf.
Selling by Private Treaty
This is when you, the home owner, set the price tag you would be willing to acceptyou’re your property. Your real estate agent will then negotiate with each and every interested party, trying to find a willing buyer who will meet your nominated price or as close to it as possible.
In general, sale by private treaty gives the seller greater control over the sale, more time to consider offers by potential purchasers and the ability to extend the time the property is listed on the market. Plus potential purchasers must make offers on your property 'blind', this means without knowing what other buyers are willing to pay.
Sale by Expressions of Interest (EOI)
Sale by Expressions of Interest (EOI) is when you invite buyers to submit an offer to purchase your property by a specified time and date. Each potential purchaser puts forward their best and final offer (in writing).
Generally your property will be on the market for 4-6 weeks to enable you to promote your property effectively and to ensure ample time is given for buyers to look through the home, finalize their finance and determine the price they are willing to pay.
At the end of the sale period the vendor will review submissions and choose the expression of interest that interests them the most. If an acceptable offer is not found by the vendor, the property may be placed on the market as a private treaty sale or EOI’s may be called again.*
A comprehensive marketing plan
Effectively marketing your property is a critical part of achieving a successful sale. A well rounded marketing plan with a mix of different advertising channels such as internet, social media, signboards, local marketing and newspaper advertising all play an important role in spreading the word about your property and creating healthy competition among buyers.
A strong marketing plan should include:
- Professional photography and copy writing
- Signboards in front of the property
- On-line advertising
- Social media advertising
- Real estate portal promotion
- Print media advertisements
- Drop cards and property brochures
- And potentially video & spotlight property advertising
Styling your property to sell
Property styling is all about spending time organizing, tidying, decluttering and decorating your property and garden to make it look fantastic at open for inspections.
It is about employing design and presentation techniques to your home to create a visual marketing tool which will increase the potential of your home attracting the most amount of buyers and ultimately a quicker and more lucrative sale.
The benefits of home styling?
A survey of LJ Hooker agents found that:
- 98% of agents believe that styling your property to sell can help achieve a higher sales price.
- 83% of our top agents believe styling can add over 2.5% to your property’s sale value. So if you had a property worth $600,000 that's an additional $15,000...a lot of money!
- 2% of our agents believe it helped influence a quicker sale and 88% believed it triggered multiple offers through private treaty and more bidders on auction day.
Whilst you can employ an expert to help you style your property, not everyone has the budget so here is some practical advice to help you prepare 3 key areas of your property for sale. For room by room tips download our Styling to Sell eBook.
Right pricing strategy
Knowing how much your property is worth and pricing it accordingly is an important step towards completing a successful sale.
Here’s a look at what you should consider
Your initial appraisal
At the beginning of your campaign your agent would have appraised your property.
To get to this figure they would have conducted a comparative market analysis and looked at similar properties that have sold within the last 90 days. They would have considered current competition, wider market trends and your properties structure and conditions to arrive at a value that they believe you could achieve if you sold your property at that point in time.
The initial appraisal is a good starting point but over the course of a 4-6 weeks sales campaign, the property market can fluctuate and it’s important to factor the following changes in when setting your price. You want to be “in the market” not “on the market”.
Buyers sentiment
Understanding buyer sentiment is important when setting your price. Talk to your agent and see if there are any passionate buyers, what does the agent think they would be willing to spend, what is the general feeling at the open homes?
Advice from your agent
Your agent is at the coal face of your marketing campaign, they are hosting open homes, fielding calls, sending contracts, following up attendees after inspections. They know how much interest there is in your property plus any positive or negative feedback. They know what the market is thinking about your property and are an important resource to tap into when setting your reserve.
Any offers and market feedback
It is important not to get sentimental about your property and set an unrealistic reserve. It is very important to talk to your agent, to review any offers and listen to market feedback from your agent.
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