The prevailing belief, when it comes to real estate, is that a property increases in value over time. As opposed to other necessary items like cars or computers, which actually depreciate, a house is considered to be a tidy bit of investment that’s supposed to yield profits. Unfortunately, some home sellers these days aren’t benefitting from that investment because real estate sales have been on a decline. Can you avoid slashing your property’s sale price in a sluggish market where properties outnumber buyers?
You can actually, provided you can afford to wait out the slow market and sell until conditions make it possible for a seller to make a profit. Most sellers who can’t wait have been forced to cut down their initial asking price just to make a sale. Best selling author Bryce Courtenay is one such seller. His New South Wales Southern Highlands property—a five-bedroom lodge—used to have a $3.3 million price tag. It currently sells for $1.9 million. Mr. Courtenay’s real estate woe is reportedly symptomatic of what has been happening in the market. Home prices may be down across all major cities in Australia but not a lot of buyers are keen to pay over a million dollars — even if the property has a desirable location.
Real estate experts suggest that homes under $700,000 are actually selling, in spite of the property’s condition. Even a Brunswick worker’s cottage, which oddly had its bathroom (sink and bathtub) in the kitchen, sold for a reported $425,000. Indeed, you can coax demand for your property by approaching it strategically.
One good strategy is to get a hold of street and property reports from a professional and eminent firm that provides accurate and comprehensive data on real estate. Street and property reports will contain estimated values of properties and recent sales reports from a particular street. By having sufficient knowledge about how your corner of the city is doing in terms of property sales, you’ll be able to coincide your sale at a critical time and not have to worry about cutting a huge amount from your asking price.
If time is of the essence and you need to start making money off your property today, it might be a good idea to consider temporarily renting it out instead of selling it outright. Renting might get you the cash flow you need without sacrificing the value of your property.
The current market may not be ideal for sellers like you but you can still find ways to maximise as much profit as possible from your property. By keeping up-to-date with market trends and by relying on accurate and comprehensive real estate sales reports, you’ll be able to make an informed decision that should lead to favourable results.