Stuart Zullo 
When speaking with family and friends we find it really interesting to hear what people look for in a real estate agent. There seems to be a two way tie between their personality and the dollar figure they suggest your home may sell for. While these may be important attributes, we find it a little concerning that people aren’t noticing other really important factors that we believe should also be driving their decision.
For example, very few people we’ve spoken to mentioned anything about agents’ marketing strategies. In our minds this should be at the forefront of your mind when questioning an agent you’re thinking of entrusting with the sale of your home. A marketing strategy should be tailored individually to your home, ensuring it will gain maximum reach in the market and optimise your potential for achieving the best price possible. A marketing plan that sees you spending excessive money on strategies that won’t help your property reach more buyers is clearly a waste of your money, and not spending enough dollars on strategies that clearly put your home in the mind of more buyers is similarly detrimental to your campaign. Your agent should be able to advise you about what strategies will work best for your home, and come up with a marketing campaign that will ultimately create competition for your home and drive the price up – our ultimate goal.
It’s also a concern to us when our friends tell us they just went with the agent who said they could sell their property for more money. This is very risky, particularly if the bottom line is the only factor influencing your decision. Agents should be supplying you with information about what has recently sold in the area that’s comparable to your home, as well as properties currently for sale that would form your home’s competition if placed on the market today. If an agent does their research, the price range they suggest your property may sell for will be based on fact, rather than simply a figure they have plucked out to try to buy your listing. We must offer a word of caution – Properties tend to reach the most number of buyers in the first 4 to 6 weeks of hitting the market, after which time inspection rates and buyer interest tends to drop off. If you price yourself too high in that initial period it’s going to be very difficult to generate enough interest in your home to reach a high price. We urge you to listen to the facts, and be realistic about your price. A little optimism can be harmless, but pricing your home a full price bracket above where buyers think it should be can really hurt a sales campaign.
If you are thinking of selling and would like some advice about your property’s price, marketing or presentation, our Professionals Paradise Realty team would love to help you. Please call us or come in for a no obligation chat.