For many of you, the house was possibly the biggest item you bought with your savings so far - now that you are selling it away, all you want is for it to sell well, and at a price you will be happy with.
Hence, many of us would place a “safe price” - a price that is only a little bit higher than the current prices on the websites, so that if interested buyers come by and ask for negotiations, the final agreed price would be just around your original preferred price.
However, do you catch onto something really wrong here?
That is the multiplier effect right here - if you are basing your price on the current prices listed on websites by other buyers, it's likely that they have already done a slight increase from the previous ones that they saw online. By increasing your own listed price by 5~10% than theirs, you are effectively 10~20% higher than the even older ones. By comparison, your property becomes noticeably expensive, and you might end up not getting enough interested buyers to come by and negotiate.
Over time, your listing becomes “stale”, and overtaken by fresher and other listings that could have been more affordable. Due to the fear of “losing out” on the 5~10%, you end up not being able to close the deal entirely.
How do you make sure that you don’t miss out on a whole section of interested buyers that are interested in a different set of prices?
That’s right - while it may seem unattractive, the way to do it is to place your price lower. Get more interested buyers, and get them to come over for viewing to create interest or demand.
Many of us have also assumed that if you give an exact number, it would be easier to “set the tone” of the negotiations, or bring in luck with a luckier set of numbers.
Let’s take a look: SGD$875,888 vs. SGD$875,000.
Which number looks more receptive to negotiations and discussions?
And that’s right, $875,000 looked more like a “rough gauge” by the seller, which means it looks like there is room for negotiations. On the other hand, if you give a very specific or exact number, chances are, you are giving the interested buyers a message that you did your calculations to arrive at that figure. Hence, more often than not, it looks like you would not be receptive to negotiations and buyers end up not reaching out instead.
If you really are unwilling to put a whole number like SGD$ 875,000 then how about $874,999? Do you know that even until now, the number 9 still sells the best out of all the numbers out there? Customers still perceive prices ending in 9 as significantly lower than they actually are and we tend to round them to the next lowest monetary unit. Hence, while it is an old tactic, it still works perfectly fine.
If your buyers need a push to make the decision, another good alternative would be to provide extra perks or incentives for them to consider your place. This includes buying the interest rate down on the purchaser’s loan or paying for certain administrative or miscellaneous costs for them. Otherwise, an offer to provide repainting or renewing works for them to move in smoothly. This could very well make the final difference between the buyer choosing your place over another.
Finally, the final advice would be to hire an experienced real estate expert to assist you with the sale of your place. They would be able to gauge your home’s potential and best selling points, whilst knowing what the existing competition is in the market.
If you are unsure, reach out to us for the right information and strategy that you need to close the deal effectively.
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