Hi folks,

With the number of listings in the marketplace increasing as normal for the time of year I thought I would address the selling time factor. Few vendors trying to decide which agent should sell their property would base their choice simply on whether they are likely to get a quick sale. And is a ‘quick sale’ an advantage anyway?

A quick sale may seem to some home owners a godsend and to others likely to sell the property short. But when judging an agent’s sales success, length of time taken to sell properties is worth taking into account. It is especially significant when properties stay on the market so long that vendors’ commitments aren’t able to be honoured and their plans go astray -are as well as resulting in a lower selling price at the end of the process.

When selecting an agent, ask them not only what their selling success rate is, but what is their average time to sell a property similar to yours – in other words, how many days on the market?

Then, find out whether they are likely to follow through in your individual case by asking them to demonstrate that they have genuine purchasers who are in the market for a property like yours. Ask: “If I list my property with you today, how many genuine purchasers from your data base could you bring to inspect my property in the next 48 hours?” Experienced home sellers report that many agents simply offer the anecdotal “We have lots of buyers waiting.”

While there is no guarantee that the right buyer for you is already on an agent’s books (you will most certainly still need to advertise) the professionalism of the agent who can get the ball rolling with purchasers interested in a property similar to yours augurs well for a successful transaction.