How do agents bridge gap between what you want and what you'll get?

You’ve seen a house down the road sell for $1.2m and what’s the betting you think yours is better, and therefore worth more. Or at least as much as that one.

Real estate agents hear this all the time, but it’s amazing how often homeowners fail to see the things that make that other house a cut above. And often, it’s because they are not seeing the “faults” with their own home. Like the fact the carpet may be 20+ years old, the kitchen dated, there’s no sun in winter, no ensuite, and the driveway is cracking up.

An agent does note these things, and will probably have an idea of what your property will fetch, but most prefer to let the market tell you. That is why they look for “unbiased factual information”, which is the industry phrase Drew Miller, of Ray White Mairangi Bay, uses.

It is especially important during a slump, when almost everyone thinks their house is worth more than it’s likely to fetch.

Miller says he always goes through a new property and does an appraisal, taking notes. “We then look at every property nearby that has sold that is comparable to your property, and what price that sold for. At the same time, we note what is inferior about that other property, and what is superior compared to yours – things that will have helped determine that price.

Real estate agent Drew Miller says market feedback and comparing prices to recent sales in a neighbourhood are the best ways to gauge a home’s value.

“Then we get buyer feedback from open homes – and it’s all about the feedback. We always list a property, initially, with no price, as we don't want to put a ceiling on it to start with.”

Miller says on the Monday his team will then ring everyone who came through the first weekend open homes. “They will tell us what they liked and what they didn’t like, even if they are not going to be buying the property. And we ask them, ‘based on what you saw, what would your pricing guess be?’. If they are all giving the same information – and these are people who are not talking to each other – you are getting a lot of factual information to pass on to the vendors. You get a good gauge of what the market is saying.

The agent says working with vendors who are “expecting more” is all part of being a real estate agent, but it can be “incredibly frustrating”. He cites a recent sale where comparable sales put the value around the CV. At auction, that figure was realised, but the vendor decided to up the reserve by another $300,000, which was 15% above the CV.

Miller says the vendors risked losing the interested parties they did have. But fortunately, they agreed to drop that back down, and they got an unconditional sale that was still way over the CV – a very good result in a tough market.

Jonny Nicholls of Harcourts Grenadier in Christchurch says for a while, towards the end of last year, it felt like owners were six months behind the market, while buyers were six months ahead of the market.

“This can make an agent’s job difficult. However, without such difficulties the role for a real estate agent wouldn't exist,” Nicholls says.

“I think bridging the gap comes down to a skilled agent combining both service and evidence. You need to be hard on the problem and soft on the consumer.”

Nicolls says service is critical. “My team and I, for example, are in contact with our owners almost every day, if not multiple times a day, so that when the final offer is on the table myself and my owner understand there is nothing more we could have done as a unit to derive more money from the marketplace – combined with essential up-to-date data with comparable sales data.

“Both the buyer and seller love to feel like they’ve had a win in the negotiation. How that looks can be very different, be it an additional chattel or a price variation – great agents have this unique ability to be able to connect the two parties one way or another.”

Nicholls says justifying a figure for an owner or buyer with evidence is critical.

“If I don’t think the offer is right, and I’m portraying why to a buyer, I have to know why and have the stats or info to back it up with evidence. Likewise with a buyer, the number has to be somewhat justified.

“Great agents know their market inside out, and it’s often those agents who, not surprisingly, are putting more deals together.”

Nicholls says there are many agents who have started over the past 18 months who will have never experienced a buyer’s market. “They’ll find it tough, and a lot of agents will sadly leave the industry this year – that’s the reality. Skilled agents who are putting deals together will get more business and do as well as last year if not better.”

https://www.stuff.co.nz/life-style/homed/real-estate/130968591/how-do-agents-bridge-gap-between-what-you-want-and-what-youll-get?fbclid=IwAR00GT2Q6-WAPBSPleNqE4rUcHdVMB9rFCxV3SLUCjI2IoNYpd0xBFTvq1g