HouseWeb Page - Selling & Price Negotiation Ideas

[drbubb]

... from that same HPC thread ...

 

That's how I'd do it too.... trouble is you haven't factored in all the daft other halves in the country-

 

You- "The EA says the Vendor has been offered 240K for it and has rejected it"

Wife-"But I love this house. can we stretched a bit more?"

You-"But I think he is making it up so we offer more"

Wife-"you're just being tight, your brother/dad/my brother/dad would buy it for their wife because they want them to be happy"

You-" you have to be practical here, they are liars, just read HPC it is all there"

Wife "Well it's not like that on mumsnet, they are just grumpy old men"

You-"no they're not, it is an informed website"

Wife-"and I have ordered the curtains for it"

You-"what?"

Wife-"look.... I love it, my friends love it, my parents are helping with the purchase.... why can't you just stop being so mean for once?"

 

Sensible negotiation is often not possible with some people, this is by far and away the biggest purchase in their lives and with so many emotions involved you can see how the EAs have marketed us into this mess

If possible, you need to get the spouse in on the game.

 

After many times going through it, my GF has now learned most of the tricks. She handled most of the negotiations on the last property we sold. This was essential, because the Agent spoke very little English. In fact, she handled the agent well (with only the odd tip from me.) I have tried going over the points with her, but what really seemd to work was her seeing me do it so many times.

 

As a Seller, the first challenge you face here is many agents will phone you up like this...

 

E A : Hello, DrBubb. Is your flat at XXX still for sale?

DrB : Yes, it is.

E A : What price do you want?

 

(Now before I knew the game, I would give him a straight answer, repeating the same figure he had in his computer, and then he would say: "Is that your bottom price?" And at first, I would give him a lower figure, and then he would realise that he had a weak vendor to deal with, who was CUTTING HIS OFFER PRICE, before he even saw a serious bid. ):

 

... So here's what I do now ...

 

DrB : What price does it say in your computer?

E A : (he might say) $2.88 million

DrB : Okay. That's still my price. Do you have a buyer?

E A : I have a client who might be interested. What is your bottom price please?

DrB : Well, excuse me, I am not going to cut my asking price before your client sees the flat. In fact, I am thinking of raising it.

E A : Okay. I will show it to my client this weekend.

DrB : That's fine. Please call me, if you think he is ready to make a serious bid, and against a firm bid, I might improve my selliong price just a little.

 

(Please note: this was a Seller's market, with rising prices. We eventually sold at $2.90 million to a Investor, who did not even see the inside of the flat.- A job well done by my partner.)

[drbubb]

Great anecdote from MT: http://www.housepricecrash.co.uk/forum/ind...howtopic=150553

 

He admitted that he would not buy now with the current asking prices and advised me to hold off as he felt it was inevitable that prices would tumble considerably in the coming months.

 

He said that he knew of "many properties in Swansea West which have now been on the market for 4 or 5 years", but which don't sell due to the asking price being way too much, but more and more houses with similar asking prices are now flooding the market thinking they will sell within weeks. He said that "they have no idea".

 

He said that there were plenty of sellers who are still dictating the asking price and he thought that this was due to the people needing the full asking price to pay off debt as, in his words, "they will never sell for anywhere near asking price".

 

He said that what few sellers there are are now using the internet to check the land registry prices when the house last sold.

. . .

So there you have it. OK, this is just one EA who works for one of the bigger chains in Swansea but he was brutally open and seemingly honest about what he perceived the state of the market locally to be in. He seemed, IMPO, very tired and fed up with it all.

TIME TO TALK THE SELLERS DOWN.

 

:

 

A Falling market is a "Buyer's market", the buyer is King, and the sellers have to come down to meet them.

 

That +agents's job+ now is to "talk the sellers down".

If they want to stay in business, they will have to learn how to do that again.

[drbubb]

People shouldn't be asking if house prices can crash. They should instead be asking how can they not crash... given austerity, a continued credit contraction, and a poor economy.

I agree.

 

Just FYI, here's an email exchange I had with an English EA based in HK, who is selling UK properties here in HK:

===================================================

 

EA:

Thank you for your enquiry for Saffron Square.

Below, I have attached details for your perusal. We are marketing two blocks, so please expect one more email.

If you would like to discuss in more details or come to my office to see the model, I am available anytime.

 

DB:

Falls averaging 1% a month seem to have started now,

so we reckon prices will be back in our range in about 2-3 years.

No reason not to wait.

 

EA:

I can see non prime locations in the UK coming down further.

However, I personally think/hope London will continue on the line it is. The Olympics and new infrastructure will help sustain interest.

Plus plenty of international buyers looking at London for investment because the can leverage 70-80% mortgages. Where a local Brit is being offered 50-60% mortgages. I do expect the banks to free up cash and know there is a willingness to do so… probably as and when interest rates rise to more acceptable levels.

 

DB:

Prime hold up? Every agent selling "prime" says that.

Let's make a bet

 

EA:

OK a couple of lagers. / (dated: 9 September, 2010 )

 

DB:

Okay. But if I win, I don't drink lager anymore.

Will you entertain a bet on the average of Halifax and Nationwide index in 12 months time?

That is: August 2011? 2010 average is: £167,698

Here's the data: http://tinyurl.com/UKtrap

I think that index could fall by at least 5-10%. But you will be happy paying if it falls 1%. right?

 

EA:

As mentioned I believe London and the Nationwide index will track differently. Nice try though.

 

DB:

My H&N index follows the average of Halifax and Nationwide.

What index would you prefer?

(I do not rely on "hear/say" where objective measures are available,

since the Property market is so very full of spin.)

 

EA:

(Not willing to confirm the Index for the bet - Within a few days, Rightmove announced its Great London index fell 1.49% in August.)

[drbubb]

(Moving this to the GPC Property section)

[drbubb]

Some are doing well online:

 

Rightmove's business model is basically advertising, looking at Google trends they may have seen the high point in traffic to the site for quite some time. As volume dries up in the property market revenues should drop sharply to reflect reality.