“If you have to ask, you probably can’t afford it.” How many times have you heard that sentiment over the years?
Say you’re in a shop and you see something you like, but there’s no price. What can you do? Make your own guess at how much it’s worth? You might take it up to the counter and feel embarrassed when it’s way out of your price range? Perhaps you tell yourself to forget it, and kick yourself later for missing out on a bargain?
In this case, there are more than a few similarities between buying an item in a shop and buying property.
“Of course we want to get the best possible outcome for our vendors,” says owner of Najib Real Estate, Nathan Najib. “We believe reliable, honest, and transparent communication with both our vendors and potential buyers is key to achieving that.”
Before listing, we will assess your home, sit down with you, and have an open discussion about your expectations. We want to make sure your home is priced fairly, and that you understand where it sits in the market.
By putting a price guide on the property listing, prospective buyers can immediately see if the house is within their price range. People are time-poor, and don’t want to be put in the awkward position of phoning the agent and researching the property only to find it’s not in their budget. Equally, they don’t want to see how much it sold for later and regret not putting in an offer.
Because people are time-poor, they don’t want to invest in researching and visiting a property in case it turns out to be out of their budget. By adding a price, we are offering potential buyers some certainty. They are able to visit an open home with the confidence that they are in the right ball-park with their budget.
Our job as your real estate agent is to get you the best offer on your home. For that to happen, we usually need more than one offer on the table. By adding a price guide to your property listing, potential buyers will instantly know whether or not they’re in with a chance. Plus, you have the flexibility of negotiating the price with a wider range of buyers. After all, the sale price is just one factor in the negotiation process when deciding the best offer on your home.
Can we acknowledge the elephant in the room? In general, real estate agents aren’t considered the most trustworthy people in New Zealand. Part of how we at Najib Real Estate are trying to change this perception is by introducing a price guide. That way, there can be no backroom conversations or underhanded deals with potential buyers talking about what a vendor may or may not accept. Everything is in black and white upfront.
Some real estate agents in Christchurch argue that by not listing a price guide, the market will determine what the property is worth. This is strictly speaking, true. But, if half of interested buyers in the market don’t come to your open home because they are not sure what the property might go for, are the offers an accurate reflection of the Christchurch property market?
It’s not as if the agents don’t know or have an idea. If you call and ask for a price indication before going to an open home, they might tell you, “We’re not sure, you need to come in for a look.” Honestly, any professional real estate agent should have a good grasp on trends in the market. After comparing other properties sold within the area and having a solid discussion with the vendor, a decent real estate agent should know within 10 to 15% of what a house will sell for.
So why don’t more real estate agents use price guides? Perhaps they feel there is something to be gained with an element of mystery. Our promise to you is that all properties listed by Najib Real Estates will have a price guide. As a vendor, you need to know that your agent is being upfront with you and is working to get you the best offer. As a potential buyer, you need to make quick decisions about whether a listing is worth visiting. Price guides bring transparency to real estate and make sure that everyone is happy with the end result.
Before engaging any real estate agent to sell your home, do a little research. Ask them about the strategies they will use to bring people to your open home and see what they think about price guides. For an open and honest appraisal of your property, contact the team at Najib Real Estate on 03 326 7914.