If you ask your estate agent why you haven’t yet sold your house, he’ll blame either your asking price (too high) or the market (too slow) or both. So what’s his answer? “Drop your price”. This strategy, he assures you, will combat a sluggish market and bring previously hidden buyers out into the open. He is persuasive, after all, there is no other answer. It’s a sale at any cost.
But wait – it’s a sale at your cost! If you drop your asking price by £50,000 (and let’s remember – that’s more than twice the average annual wage in the UK) what is your estate agent going to lose in commission? At 1.5% the company will lose only £750. And what about the sales negotiator? If they are on 3% of sales commission, which is about average, that’s only £22.50 to lose.
So, let’s get this straight: your sales negotiator is putting pressure on you to drop your asking price by £50,000 so you can sell, but his only stake is a loss of commission of £22.50. Is that fair?!
Don’t be the biggest loser – do everything you can to protect that most precious of commodities – your asking price. After all, if you don’t think your house is worth it, how can you expect your buyer to?
If you’d like my help to sell your home more effectively, please answer a few short questions here and if I think I can help you, I’ll be in touch.
