Congratulations! You’ve made the big decision to put your house on the market.

The next question is which method of sale is best for you – priced, auction, deadline/tender, or negotiation.

Advertising with a Price

In the current market, I recommend advertising with a price to most clients.

This means either putting a fixed price on your marketing material or asking for Buyer Enquiry Over a certain amount.

Putting a number to your property means buyers know where they stand and so are much more likely to engage if your house falls within, or just outside, their budget. The first two and half weeks of marketing is when most buyer interest occurs, so you want to make sure they are engaged as soon as your house is listed. Not putting an indicative price on the listing puts potential buyers off as they need to work to figure out whether your property is in their ballpark.

Statistics from Trade Me, NZ’s largest property portal, back this up, showing there’s 50% less hits if a listing doesn’t have a price.  

Engaging everyone from the get-go creates favourable conditions for a multi offer situation and injects a sense of buyer urgency as competition is created. With strong marketing from your agent you will likely receive offers above your asking price.

Auction

In the current market, where there are both fewer buyers and fewer buyers without conditions, auction is best reserved for special properties. It works well if your property is in a highly desirable area or street that will generate heavy competition.

Tender and Deadline

These work well in a highly competitive market with plenty of cash rich buyers around, but are less effective when the market is tighter as it is now. It can be frustrating for vendors to have a tender or deadline process, receive no offers then have to go to market with a price.

By Negotiation

I don’t recommend this method of sale for the current market as there is no price indication given for the buyer. It’s much better to put an indication on the listing and then start negotiations from there.

My overall advice is to listen to your agent when thinking about how best to sell your property. They will take into account local conditions and trends. That said, if you are certain you know which way you prefer, then your agent should listen to you, their customer.

When it comes to setting the price, property valuation websites give you an idea based on how many percent above RV sales have been in the area. Some of the property valuation websites allow you to update their data if you as the homeowner think it is inaccurate – which it may be if you have renovated, for example.

Local agents will have a good knowledge of the price range you can expect. If you are not happy with an agent’s estimate, obtain a second opinion.

Tall Poppy offers no-obligation appraisals so give us a call if you are thinking of moving.