Selling your house can be a stressful experience, no matter what. But, when it feels like your home isn’t selling and your estate agent has run out of options, it can feel like you’re hitting a brick wall. Head of our London Sales team and experienced Sales Advisor, James Moran, was recently featured in Yahoo Finance to discuss what you can do when it feels like your house just isn’t selling.
“When you’re selling your home, it’s the first two to three weeks that are telling; that will indicate how realistic your chances are of selling at the agreed price,” James says.
“Once you’ve passed the three- to four-week period, this is when your agent may have run out of ideas if they don’t have a proper strategy and have just got it out on all the portals; they’ll have probably done everything digitally, so they’ll become distant and less responsive.”
James describes the first month as a “honeymoon period”, a period when there are plenty of viewings and interest, perhaps two viewings a week. This could drop down to one and then nothing. “Once the viewings drop, that is a clear indication that an agent has run out of ideas, exhausted their resources, and will probably start to suggest lowering the price,” Moran adds.
When looking at price and house value, James cautions about being swayed by online valuation tools when determining price. “Avoid at all costs any of the AI valuation tools. The algorithm valuation tools you find on Zoopla and The Move Market for example are unbelievably unreliable.”
James also broached the often sensitive matter of switching estate agents. James explains that this topic may come up when your property has been languishing on the market for months, you’ve reduced the price already, and are looking for a different approach or new strategy.
“The time to change agents is once the viewings stop and they’re probably not calling back. When the communication breaks down it’s typically because your agent knows they’ve done everything they feel they can, the leads have run dry and, as a result, are ignoring you,” says Moran.
Read the full article here.