October 2009

There need to be vendors as well as purchasers in the market place for sustained growth. However, there is a significant shortage of good quality stock available at present meaning that there are a large number of frustrated buyers in the market unable to find a suitable property. Tie this in with the widely held belief that now is not a good time to sell property as it is probably at its lowest worth and therein lies a paradox.

Whilst it is indeed true that buyers have become most discerning of late in their property wish list, it is also true that if more owners of desirable properties were to come to the market there would, in all likelihood, be an avalanche of interest generated and a selling price achieved that is far from rock bottom. Cash rich individuals need to optimise their investments and for others, life choices must be made recession or no recession. Accurate pricing is the key to success, there is only one opportunity to launch a property onto the market so it is imperative to get this right and not be flattered by inflated valuations.

An issue in particular which demands attention is unclear signage. If a property is for sale then it must be accurately identified. Sign boards arbitrarily situated in hedges or arrows pointing vaguely up a track do not make for a good impression on prospective buyers. If they can’t see what is for sale then they won’t bother to make further investigations and a potential sale may be lost before it has begun.