Are you getting the interest you expected?
Getting "interest" can be measured in different ways... but were you told what to expect and has the advice changed quicker than you had anticpated?
Be it 2 weeks, 2 months or even 6 months on the market, each seller will have a different opinion on what they expected to happen when they went on the market.
Your expectations in our opinion are created from the moment you meet the estate agent you chose to sell with. It may be you went with the estate agent who promised you the most viewings, or valued the highest, or convinced you their marketing strategy was best... or perhaps it was good old fashioned "gut instinct" and you went with the person you felt most comfortable with.
There is no right or wrong way on how you choose your estate agent, but once they have been fortunate enough to win your business, action, communication and results are what should be expected.
As each day passes...
In the first 2 weeks of being live on the market you would typically expect the highest volume of back to back viewings. This is simply because your 1 property is put to a large database of buyers, and this database should be your estate agents, Rightmove's and OnTheMarket's. So you for the first 2 weeks have a catch market of buyers all waiting for the next new instruction.
If you do sell during the first 2 weeks, then you are usually quite happy as a seller. There are still many hurdles to jump and now the expertise of your estate agent will be tested again in how they manage the progression of your sale. Remembering if the sale falls through, they are back to square one and need to be on the ball in getting you back on track.
2 to 4 weeks of being live on the market and already you will now be relying on how proactive your estate agent is. Often the test of a good estate agent is how they deal with their unsold properties. Are they proactively mailing the property out? Are they phoning near matches and seeing if any of their suggestions can turn a "maybe viewing" into a "lets make an offer" are they constantly aware of how to keep the property looking fresh and what warning signs to look out for when it comes to the wealth of analytics we have available.
Interest levels in the first month, so combining weeks 1 to 2 and with the following 2 weeks, should still be healthy. It is a known statistic that most buyers tend to re-order property results in "newest to oldest" so the further you fall down the timescale list the harder it is to remain noticed. But this is again where your estate agent should know how to ensure you are visible, and most importantly they should now be knowing they cannot rely on the internet to sell your property. We have sold property which have been on the market for 2 to 3 months at the asking price and above in some cases and without reducing the price! So reducing is not always the right advice, as it only takes one viewing to find the perfect buyer.
So what when its been live on the market for over 4 weeks? Well, 5, 6, 7, 8 or even 10 weeks, you will now rely solely on your estate agents ability to keep their team motivated to earn the commission and their ability and motivation to keep your property marketing looking fresh and explore every marketing trick before turning to the usual comments made by many estate agents who would rather blame your price than their marketing.
What you wont hear the estate agent say is (and we are not implying this is your estate agent!) we have a line manager or company shareholder who is more interested in a quicker lower price sale of your home to earn their commission, ie putting their income before exhausting all other options to achieve your goal. Some companies need quicker turnover to stay afloat, this pressure should never be fed down to a seller at their expense.
What you might start to hear is... "reduce your price"
In the first 2 months of marketing we do not believe an estate agent should be contemplating a price reduction! But we hear all too often, the promise of lots of interest, and offers, are met quite quickly with the advice to you of "please reduce, it most be your price".
Now if you chose your current agent based on the valuation THE GAVE and they are already asking you to reduce; you should be demanding the evidence of "what's changed since you valued the property?".
Rarely will it be the economy has crashed (although in 1989 and 2007 we did have an overnight turn of events which lead to instant changes in advice), sometimes it might be more houses which are bigger, better and cheaper than yours have come on the market, which can also trigger market demand and competition, but more often than not the estate agent will just say "well you've not sold yet, and you've not had the interest we expected".
If you are already being faced with "it must be your price" then we don't want to give too many of our secrets away, but there are things your estate can do to prove it is your price, WITHOUT actually reducing your price!
If you do feel the advice you are getting is angling towards price and you don't agree then stick with your opinions and ensure your estate agent can demonstrate they have done everything they can to maximise your chances of selling... don't just settle for "it's the price" unless perhaps you have gone against their advice.
We continue to wish you good luck with the sale of your home, and would love to be considered as your next agent should you decide a change is the best next step you can make.
Best wishes
Team Snapes