There’s more involved in selling your humble abode than whacking up a ‘For Sale’ sign and crossing your fingers. There are a few ways to get buyers to sign on the dotted line, according to Harris Real Estate Property Expert Georgie Todd.
Are You Off the Market?
In an off-market residential sale, the seller chooses to sell their property privately. That means the property isn’t listed on sites like realestate.com.au or domain.com.au.
At Harris Real Estate, this is done through an off-market database of more than 22,000 registered buyers and listed on Harris’ off-market website.
So, how does it work? Harris reaches out directly to buyers by performing an automatic search of all buyers who have outlined requirements like the property being sold. Harris then get in touch with buyers direct who’ve outlined requirements similar to the property being sold and reach out to attendees or enquiries of similar listings they’ve recently sold.
Upside: There’s a level of privacy and exclusivity that comes with an off-market sale, for both the buyer and seller. Buyers often get access to properties that aren’t available to the public, and sellers can avoid the hassle of preparing their property for public inspection and paying presentation and marketing costs.
Downside: There may be fewer potential buyers, which could limit the final sale price.
Do You Want More Control?
The Private Treaty method of sale is where a property is listed for sale with no advertised end date to suggest when offers are due. The seller may accept, reject, or counter the offers made by the buyers until an agreed-upon price is reached.
Upside: Private Treaty allows the seller to have greater control over the sales process and the final price.
Downside: It may take longer to sell the property as negotiations can take time. The seller may also have to wait for the right offer. If the property isn’t priced correctly, it may sit on the market for an extended period without receiving any offers. It also allows buyers to have conditions on their offers, such as ‘subject to finance’ or a building inspection, plus a 48-hour cooling-off period.
Make Me Your Best Offer
The Best Offer or ‘Expressions of Interest’ method of sale is where the property is marketed with an advertised price guide, range, or the potential buyer may be asked to contact the agent. Buyers are then invited to submit their best offer by a specified deadline. The seller considers all offers and decides which offer to accept, reject, or counter before or on the due date.
Upside: This method of sale creates a sense of urgency and competition among buyers, which may result in a higher sale price.
Downside: Potential buyers sometimes have limited time to view the property.
Going Once, Going Twice…
Finally, you can sell your property through auction where potential buyers compete by placing bids until a reserve price is met and the highest bidder is determined. The auction is typically conducted by a licensed auctioneer who oversees the bidding process.
Before the auction, the seller will usually set a reserve price, which is the minimum amount they’re willing to accept for the property. If an agreed price is met, the auctioneer will confirm the sale with the highest bidder and a contract for sale will be signed on the day of the auction.
If the bidding doesn’t reach the reserve price, the property may not be sold – this is called ‘holding the property over’ or ‘passing it in’.
Upside: An auction can create a sense of urgency among potential buyers, and the competitive bidding process can result in a higher sale price for the seller. There’s also no cooling-off period.
Downside: There’s a risk that the property may not sell if the bidding doesn’t reach the reserve price, or if there are few interested buyers.
Get in touch with Georgie Todd from Harris Real Estate if you’re looking to sell.
Georgie Todd
Property Consultant
0420 492 936
georgie@harrisre.com.au
@georgie_todd_realestate