Before you reduce your price

Struggling to sell? Reducing your asking price is not always the best answer.

Sellers often find being on the market and not selling after a few months can be very frustrating. They will even jump to reducing their asking price before trying other methods. Affecting a price change is not always the best solution. Follow these tips before you reduce your asking price and you may not need to. The very first thing you should do if your property has been on the market for a few months reviews the marketing. Here are a few tips…

Video is essential!

We take property videos to the next level by using real footage, filmed by a professional cameraman, bringing each property to life.

How do professional videos help?

• 80% of internet users recall watching a video on a website they have visited in the last 30 days. 46% took some action after viewing the video.

(Source: Online Publishers Association)

• Ensures your property stands out from all other properties on the market.
• Shows your property off in the best light.
• Provides an ‘open home’ any time, whatever your buyers’ location.
• Videos are 53 times more likely than text pages to show up on the first page of search results.

(GIGAmon)

• Did you know the second largest search engine in the world is YouTube? Your property video will reach the widest possible audience.

All our videos are available to view on multiple devices:

TV, desktop, tablet, and smartphone.

Review your property description

Is it attractive to the reader? To differentiate your property from your competition, use lifestyle descriptions that sell the dream, not the bricks and mortar.

So instead of saying, ‘a modern, well-presented home that needs an internal viewing to appreciate, which is the kind of agent-speak sure to turn a buyer off, try instead something like, “This bright and airy home is perfect for the growing family, with spacious rooms and a wonderful garden” – much more appealing!

How proactive is your agent?

An agent with their finger on the pulse will keep you up to date with what is going on. If there have been no viewings, ask your agent why?

Does your current agent ever give you your clickthrough rate on Rightmove?

Reports are great but actions get real results. Maybe your current agent is only showing you these figures to impress, rather than feeding back who they have actually spoken to.

At Orchards Estates, we are constantly chasing down every lead we get and our database is routinely called (yes, we actually speak to people about your house!) as well as regular emails to all our applicants.

Social media is essential to help get your property out there and reach the widest audience possible. Does your agent have a social media marketing strategy for your property?

Rightmove is for browsers, not buyers! They have 21 million hits a month yet only around 1,231,120 housing transactions happen in the UK annually. That means 99.6% of Rightmove traffic is wasted.

Meaning feedback

A good agent will keep in contact with you every week or so. You should be getting regular feedback from viewings and if you haven’t had viewings, what are the reasons?

Comments like “the bedrooms are too small” will only tell you your agent isn’t doing their job properly as they should inform viewers of the size of your property before showing them around. Are you getting genuine feedback or standard phrases?

Viewings

Another thing to remember is that it’s better to leave your property during viewing as this can often put potential buyers off. It can be hard to get good feedback if you are there as some viewers may feel uncomfortable being honest around you.

The best thing to do is just leave your agent to handle it, they know what they’re doing. Make sure you also take any pets with you as some people may not like them, Another important thing to remember is to make sure your agent can accommodate your buyers.

Does your agent do viewings in the evenings? Are they even open?

This is often when genuine buyers with busy lives are wanting to view or, at least, talk to someone about your property.

Home sale-ability report

The aim of a sale-ability report is to work out the desirability of the property in relation to a marketing presentation. This helps to identify how long it may take to sell a property and how much it is likely to sell for in the current market. All good agents will provide a home sale-ability report. Have you had one completed?

Marketing review

A professional agent will jointly create with you a marketing plan that will have a structured strategy to help you achieve the price you want within a set timeframe. Did your agent do this with you?

Keeping your property clean

Most people underestimate the power of a clean and clutter-free home. Just getting rid of any smells or dirt can drastically improve your property’s presentation. Your agent should be advising you on what needs doing and what changes you could make in order to improve your home’s appeal to the broadest audience.