The five things the real estate industry doesn’t want you to know: Barry Goldman

I’ve been in the real estate industry a long time, and have seen everything there is to see. I’m constantly amazed and slightly bewildered at some of things I hear fellow real estate agents telling potential clients. In fact, some of these myths that have surrounded the industry have been stated for so long they are almost considered conventional wisdom by everyone – yet they are not true. 

Many things you may have heard in the past are either simply not true, or have been exaggerated to make things easier on the real estate agent. Let me share with you my top 5 industry myths, why people have believed them for so long and why you can take far more control of the sales process when selling your home. I call it ‘real estate stripped bare’.

LEDA Real Estate’s top 5 myths exposed:

1. Winter and Xmas are not good times to sell your house.

In today’s digital world anytime is a good time to sell as there are buyers in the market all the time. It is incorrect to think that you really only sell property in the spring, which is roughly 3 months of the year! Great results have been regularly achieved for sellers in both winter and the Xmas periods. The other factor is that a seller often does not have a choice of when they need to sell, for economic or personal reasons. With the rise of online property searching people are always looking, and a property will always sell no matter what time of the year in the prevailing market if it is priced correctly. The question becomes ‘how committed is your agent to sell this property for their client during this time of year’. Agents all like to take long breaks at Xmas and New Year but the market operates 24/7 in today’s world.

The best time to sell your house is when you need or want to sell your house. This notion is perpetuated by a lazy and opportunistic industry, and suggesting that you should sell your house in spring creates an unnatural demand and inaccurate perception in the market that supply and demand is strongest at this time.

2. The agent knows the best time to open your property for inspection.

It has been taken as a given for decades that sellers have to fit in with an agent’s timetable, even if they don’t realise it. Most commonly the key driver to recommended open house times is simply what fits neatly into the real estate agent’s schedule, and is not defined by what is the best time for the client to showcase their property to best effect. Why would a seller be given a 9-10.am open time if their property is teeming with sunlight at 11am? For too long clients have simply accepted the timetable given by real estate agents, beholden to an open house schedule purely designed around the agent being able to show as many properties as possible in as short a time as possible.

3. The best way to sell your home is by auction.

You can quite often achieve a very good result from auction, but to take the position that many agents do - that every property should go to auction - is ridiculous. This approach is driven by the agents desire for larger marketing budgets. When deciding which way to sell whether it be by auction or private treaty each property must be treated individually so as to maximise the properties end value in the market at the time and act in the best interest of the client. The idea of one size fits all is crazy, yet many sellers get pushed towards an auction. There are also some people who are uncomfortable or get very stressed by the notion of going to auction. Unfortunately many agents simply follow a formula, get maximum marketing dollars and ‘move another property’ at auction, but aren’t acting in the best interests of the seller.

4. Only agents know the market value of your home.

The last decade has seen many new avenues open up to sellers, where information that used to be only available to the industry is now available to all. Today, anyone with access to the internet can find out the sales details of a property sold in their area, and get a very good feel for the market and sales expectations. There are various research organisations such as RP Data, APM and Residex who provide this information for a fee. The advice given to potential sellers by many agents comes from these very same resources!

5. The more you spend on marketing costs the better the sale price.

There is no question that the marketing of a property is crucial, but the marketing spend that goes into inefficient advertising channels will not result in a better sales price. All it does is cost the owner more money and reduces the net return of sale proceeds from their sale. When it comes to marketing the most important thing is ensure that the seller is being given the best possible advice. In this day and age, spending marketing dollars in newspaper classified advertising needs to be seriously questioned if recommended by an agent. Much of these advertisements include significant branding for the real estate agency, and we know that 87% of all potential buyers are actively searching online.

Barry Goldman is chief executive of LEDA Real Estate.