12 Mar
If your house has been on the market for more than three months, there are some questions you need to ask your estate agent to find out why it hasn’t sold or had much interest yet. You are paying them a good fee so it’s only fair you ask what they are going to do for you. The best estate agents will be able to answer any questions openly and with a clear strategy
Compare-Agents is your local estate agent comparison site. We analyse the real time performance of every active estate agent in the UK and using basic information about your home, we provide you with a list of the best estate agents that cover your postcode and how they perform against each other.
- Why Hasn’t My House Sold?
Why not just be upfront and ask the big question? The truth of the matter is, there are usually several reasons, and quite possibly none of those reasons will be your asking price. Ask your agent for constructive ways you can help him to attract viewers. The questions set out below are designed to guide you on a reasonable approach to your situation.
- Who Have You Sent Our Property Details out To?
When you chose your local estate agents, chances are, they had a list of potential buyers in the market for a home like yours. Over the past weeks and months that list will have grown with even more new potential buyers. The best estate agents will offer your property details to all these people and possibly others too, on the off chance. If they haven’t, then why?
It might be in your interest to ask the agent:
- how many people have asked for your property details specifically
- how many brochures have been sent out via their mailing list?
- How many did they print
- How many do they have left?
- Can you Show Me Our Rightmove Performance Report And Analysis?
A Rightmove Property Performance Report is available to all estate agents who use Rightmove to advertise their properties. This report shows:
- How well your property is ‘performing’ in terms of the number of times it appears in search results.
- How that compares with the performance of your agent’s other properties.
- The above reports for the last week, fortnight or four weeks.
The report also displays your ‘click-through rate’ which represents the percentage of viewers who click on your property advert to look at further details. The national average click-through rate is currently around 6%, which you can take as a benchmark.
Statistically, there is a direct correlation between the click-through rate of a property, and the viewings generated so it is very important that this activity remains as high as possible.
If your property is performing below par, the first place to start is with your agent. They could suggest changing some images, re-writing the info. If they do this, ask your agent for a new report to assess the impact any changes have made.
- Can You Change The Images On My Listing?
if your online activity is low, you could suggest a change to your main image. Sometimes the weather and lighting can have an effect on the overall feel of a photo. If it doesn’t improve your activity, try another until you get the click-through rate you need (see point 3). Sometimes, a fresh new image improves your rate.
- What Did Our Viewers Go On to Buy?
Your local estate agents should be following up with any viewers to discuss what they thought of your property and eventually went on to buy. By asking them what the viewer’s feedback was, you can build a picture of the types of people looking at your house and what it is that swayed them.
For example, if they bought somewhere very similar to your home, you might need to compete better with some strategic sprucing up, either to your home or to your brochure. Even the best estate agents might need a push to advise you in this regard.
- What Is The Movement Like On Comparable Properties?
It is always handy to know who is achieving viewings, and who isn’t? Which houses have been reduced in price, and the difference this has made Ask your agent which properties are under offer, how long it took, and at what kind of price they got.
If you aren’t getting viewings and everyone else is, you need to know why.
- How Can Our Marketing Be Improved?
Ask your agent if they can produce a marketing review, and analyse it as objectively as you can. Analyse your brochure, photography and online advert and identify areas that can be improved, and make sure they are acted upon.
As an aside, a few tips to prepare your home for viewers:
- Make sure your home is clean, tidy and free from clutter. This will give potential buyers a blank canvas to imagine how they would use the space.
- It should look as good as possible from the outside. Mow the lawn, pull out the weeds, clean the windows and repair any broken gates or fences.
- If your home is a bit run down you may want to consider some home improvements – but do get your estate agent’s opinion on whether it’s worth the expenditure
- Kitchen renovations are huge, expensive projects – giving things a fresh coat of paint and replacing shabby looking handles and doors can be effective and much cheaper.
- If you think your home may have any major structural issues that could put buyers off, consider getting a survey done so that you have prior confirmation of the extent of the problems, plus potential repair costs. You can then decide whether to fix things or factor future costs for a buyer into your asking price.
Choosing an estate agent to manage the sale of your property can be an intimidating prospect and important to get right for a smooth and quick sale. Pick the wrong agent and your property might not sell as quickly as it should or for the best price.
