Property Selling Tips with Andrew Winter

Selling in a hot market should be easy, but real estate expert Andrew Winter says you’d be surprised at the common mistakes he sees sellers making all the time.

Residz Team 10/31/2021 5:15:58 AM 3 min read

Selling in a hot market should be easy, but real estate expert Andrew Winter says you’d be surprised at the common mistakes he sees sellers making all the time. With a bumper spring season for house sales and open inspections underway again in Melbourne and Sydney, sellers should be as well-informed as they can be to beat the strong competition.

The presenter of Selling Houses Australia and Love It or List It Australia says seller mistakes include:

Overestimating how much their home is worth. A Journal of Housing Economics study out of the U.S. found that owners on average overestimate the value of their properties by 8%. Part of the reason could be the endowment effect (also known as divestiture aversion). When valuing objects, the least amount an object’s owners would accept to give it up is usually higher than the maximum amount they’d pay for the same object to acquire it. In other words, you place a higher value on items you own. As well, you have all those family memories, plus knowledge of how much you spent on updates and repairs. A hot property market only increases this tendency to overvalue our own house. Of course, dreaming is allowed, and, in this market, dream prices are sometimes being achieved.
Ignoring the competition and how neighbouring properties can impact on the value of your home. Your home doesn’t sell in a vacuum. Buyers are highly observant and will want a good gut feeling when they see your home. They will assess their feelings of safety and comfort in your neighbourhood, as well as the relative value of other local homes for sale. Try seeing your street through the lens of a new visitor to the area. Does it feel neat, tidy, and welcoming? Is the neighbourhood showing signs of neglect or signalling a strong community?
Assuming their property is perfect as it is, and has no flaws or risks that will affect how much they might achieve. You want to show your home in its best possible light, but it’s important to stay eyes-wide-open about its flaws and risks in case they come up in negotiations. Flaws could include nearby traffic, poor access to amenities, bushfire or flood risk, or high local crime rates. By law, you’ll need to disclose a flood zone if you live in one in New South Wales or Queensland, and a designated Bushfire Prone Area if in Victoria, New South Wales, or South Australia.

Being a smarter seller

So, how can you be a smart seller and avoid these mistakes? Andrew points to a brand new property research website called Residz.com. It collates data about every property in Australia and publishes each address’s bushfire and flood risk, chance of subsidence, internet speeds, school zones, plus lots more,

“It’s all available within a few clicks of a chosen address,” says Andrew, “and best of all it’s completely free.”

Understand your market

Andrew adds that Residz.com makes it easy for property owners to understand what their dream price would be in the current market, and to share that information with potential buyers.

He says by typing in your property address, Residz will not just show you what is near you that has sold (if it has recently) and their price, but it will also identify the elements that make up your dream price.

“With Residz you can learn more about the property you want to buy or maybe learn more about the property you already live in,” he says.

Summary

A hot market is still a competitive market. Buyers who’ve missed out time and time again are becoming more educated about their chosen neighbourhood and what their money can and can’t buy. Ensure you have as much information at hand about your own property to showcase its lifestyle features and proximity to amenities, as well as its low risk of crime, bushfire, subsidence etc. As Andrew stated, much of this information is on hand immediately (and for free) by typing your address into Residz.com.