The city of Hamilton currently has around five months of housing stock listed for sale on the market. This compares to around five weeks of stock just one year ago.
Lodge Real Estate Managing Director Jeremy O’Rourke says the slow market means vendors must change their sales approach. He says there are three things vendors must get right to minimise the number of days to sell.
“There are three considerations vendors need to understand about what it takes to sell a property in a market that has cooled significantly.
“The first thing is you’ve got to have great motivation. There’s no point listing your home today without being confident in exactly what you want to achieve. It’s not the time to list just to see what might happen. Vendors must be realistic and ready to move.
“Secondly, you’ve got to get your price right, and do so within the first three weeks your home is on the market. This short window of time is when buyers will be most cognisant of your property. If you don’t get your price right the first time, you risk being overlooked.
“And third factor is that vendors must get their digital promotion right in this slower market. Trade Me research shows 99% of people looking to buy a home, look online. But what many vendors don’t always understand is that while all house listings are online, not every house listing is easily visible to buyers. You need to be intentional with your promotional plan if you want to be found,” explains O’Rourke.
He says vendors should test their agents to ensure they really understand digital marketing which should include a mix of social media promotion, and features on the major real estate websites.
“As a vendor, you should also be choosing a real estate company that is meeting a lot of buyers. A great way to judge this is to ask how many open homes the company typically has over a weekend. The more open homes, the more buyers those salespeople are meeting, which means more opportunity to bring buyers back over your doorstep,” says O’Rourke.
He also says freshening up a property and considering the use of home staging has become imperative in the current, slower market.
“Smart vendors ensure their home is presented immaculately. Sometimes this means you should use a home staging consultant in order to appeal to buyers and sell more quickly. Or it might mean a freshen up, like repainting a room or adding new curtains.
“Choose a salesperson who’s willing to give you the cold hard truth about how well your property presents, rather than a comforting lie.”
