What is a buyer’s market? Understand why this market benefit the buyers.
A buyers market is where there more properties for sale than there are buyers looking to buy. This gives buyers a better negotiation power, because many owner are competing with each other to sell their property. In a buyers market, the bank interest rates are normally at the lower end. Another prominent sign of a buyer’s market is when there’s a lot of those auction properties (Lelong property).
In Sabah, the buyer’s market started since mid 2019 until today and expected to prolonged due to the market situation as well as the impact of Covid-19.
What to expect when selling your property in a buyer’s market?
If you have decided to sell in a buyer’s market, it’s important to be realistic about how the market will affect both the price you can sell your home for and the amount of time it will take to sell.
In a buyers market, you should expect that your property will stay on the market longer, higher price cut during negotiation, and eventually sold below your asking price or even below the market value.
Comparing the data above, the final transacted price in May 2020 dropped about 15%. If you are planning to sell in a buyer’s market, you might want to take into consideration on the potential decrease of final price for your property.
And as mentioned earlier, when there are more sellers than buyers in the market, you will face more competition. If you have a well maintained property, this can actually benefit you, because your house will look better than the other properties sold on a “as is where is” basis properties in the market.
Preparing to sell in a buyer’s market
Mental strength, Lowball price, Competition, this will be the words to remember. Buyers will aggressively ask for lower price for your properties and you might feel like slamming the door to their face. But this will be the norm during a buyer’s market. Buyers aware that they are in the position of negotiation and any owner who unable to hold will eventually give in.
Perhaps when an offer does come in, do whatever you can to keep the negotiations going, staying open and flexible. Remember to your objective which is to sell off the property. Even if you sell at a lower price, it doesn’t necessary makes you the loser, as you are the winner against other sellers, to be able to sell your property in a soft market.
Suggestion to Seller when selling in a buyer’s market
Hire an right agent
A Right agent makes thing easier for you to sell your property. He/she can advise you on the market value, what other sellers are asking for, transaction history, market info, planning a good marketing strategies, and negotiating tactics. But if you decided to sell it yourself, you can consider listing your property through LegacyRE website. There’s no listing fees and if you managed to sell it yourself, there will not be any transaction fees either. But you will need to be the registered owner of the property to be able to sell in the website.
Repairs and Fixes
Many property owners are selling their property on a “As is where is” basis and some of the properties might be run down and require major renovation. If you want to be ahead of the game, you might want to consider inspecting your property and repairs any major damage before selling. Leakings, old paints, clogged drains, cracks are some of the reasons for turning buyers away.
It is advisable for seller to make the necessary repairs before selling to give your next buyer a good first impression.
Advertising & Marketing
DIGITAL MARKETING AND ONLINE ADVERTISEMENT THAT HELP REACH YOUR BUYER
More homebuyers are going to the internet to hunt for properties, so having a complete online listing that really shows off your property’s best features is an absolute must.
- High quality listing photos: Almost all of our recent clients said that nicely taken photos is the reason why they contacted our agents and arranged for a viewing.
- Have a complete listing description: In addition to high quality photos, the listing description that shows up for your property in online classifieds, social media and LegacyRE should be detailed, clearly written, and packed with keywords about the features that you want to attract buyers.
- Add video tours: Virtual tours, video walkthroughs and drone videos are increasingly popular with younger buyers, and this is the largest group for the first time home buyer’s market. We are currently offering 360° virtual tours, video walkthroughs and drone videos to our clients*.
Price competitively
How to price a property in a buyer’s market is tricky. You want to price it competitively to attract buyers fast. High price will deters buyers. Low price make you seem desperate and lowering your profit.
The best way to know how to price your property to sell is to check on the price put on sale by other sellers. Check on properties that are similar in size, location, and features. If you engaged an agent, work with him/her on a good pricing strategy. A good agent will be able to provide analysis for you.
WHAT ARE OTHER GOOD WAYS TO SELL?
If the above article does not provide enough information for you to sell your property, consider contacting us for a professional advices on how to sell your property. We are unable to guarantee that your property will be able to be sold in a short time frame, but we will try our best to offer you some suggestions. Get in contact with our agents here: Our Agents
