Sooner or later you’ll decide to sell your house. Maybe it’s too small, you want to move to a different location, or it’s just time for the next step on the property ladder. Putting your house on the market is a big decision, but the sale can go smoothly if you do your homework, understand the process, and prepare well.
This guide from OneRoof will give you the information and tools you need to help get a timely sale and the best price for your home.
WHERE TO START
Take your time when you’ve decided to sell. You’ll get a better price and/or smoother sale if you understand the market are not rushed.
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• TALK TO EXPERTS: Before you put your home on the market get out and talk to local experts, says James Wilson, property valuer and head of customer experience at Valocity. That includes valuers, real estate agents, and mortgage brokers. “They will give you good advice in regards to where they think your property itself actually sits within that wider market price wise, and in the eyes of buyers,” says Wilson. As well as context, the experts will also know how to make your home sell well in their area and the best sales method. We’re lucky in New Zealand to have access to great research and commentary about property. Taking it local, can help you understand what might work for your property.
• RESEARCH THE MARKET YOU’RE SELLING (AND BUYING) IN: The more you know about your area and what sells or doesn’t, the easier the entire selling process will be. If you are buying then do your homework in that bracket as well to ensure you can find a property to buy. Set up a search in OneRoof for homes for sale and check out recently sold properties and auction results. Put your buyer eyes on, says Wilson, and look at what you would like and dislike about your property if you were a buyer.
• GET YOUR HOUSE VALUED: Real estate agents must give you a comparative market analysis (CMA), which is an estimate of value based on recently sold similar properties in the immediate area. It’s worth going one step further and getting a registered valuation. That is an independent and thorough assessment of what your property is worth and takes into account a wide range of factors such as recent sales, size and condition of the property and council information.
• RESEARCH REAL ESTATE AGENTS: Most New Zealand homes are sold by real estate agents, although you can sell privately. If you’re going to use an agent you’ll need to decide which agency you want to go with and the individual agent. Wilson’s number one tip for choosing an agent is go local. Everyone knows someone in real estate who will want to sell your property. Local agents have the networks and understand the area. If you own a home and didn’t inherit it, chances are you’ve built up relationships with agents in your area. Shortlist more than one, says Real Estate Institute of New Zealand chief executive Bindi Norwell. You’re going to spend a lot of time with this person and need to feel good about your choice. Speak to former clients for recommendations. The best agent isn’t always the one that promises the sky.
Which agent is best? Check out your local real estate offices and research who's selling and what they are selling. Photo / Fiona Goodall
• MAKE CONTACT WITH YOUR LAWYER: Lawyers cost money, but you’ll need one to handle the sale. They’re also worth their weight in gold if you want to avoid hitches such as buying a property with illegal renovations or a “defective title” issue such as boundary disputes or errors in public records.
TIMING THE SALE
Most sellers think long and hard about when the time is right for them to sell.
• MILESTONES: Life has milestones and at some point you’ll be ready to move on. Maybe you want to move up the property ladder, you’ve married and/or had children and need a bigger home, you might be downsizing to release capital, or realising your profits from a rental property. Your circumstances may have changed forcing a sale. Or you’ve chanced upon your dream home and want to buy. For some people their first home sale comes as a result of parents dying. The right time to sell is personal.
• THE BEST SEASON TO SELL: You’ll hear that it’s often considered best to sell in spring. The weather is good, your home looks better, and people are out house shopping. There can be many reasons to sell in other seasons. You have the advantage, typically of fewer homes being on the market. Scarcity can lead to competition between buyers, which pushes prices up.
• HOT MARKETS: If the market is hot, you might move faster to sell thanks to that all important competition.
SALE METHODS
New Zealand homes are sold using a number of different sales methods. That includes auctions, tenders, deadline sales, and negotiation.
• AUCTIONS: Auctions where you bid for a property are very common in New Zealand. If you buy the property “under the hammer” at the auction there is generally no way out. You need to be very sure of what you’re doing before bidding at an auction. You also need to have your mortgage pre-approved. Auctions work best in hot markets with multiple buyers competing. An auction is a speedy way to sell your property. You can set a reserve so that the property sells for at least your minimum if not more.
Auctions can be a quick way of selling a property. Photo / New Zealand Herald
• TENDERS/DEADLINE SALES: With a tender (or deadline treaty) buyers submit offers in writing to the seller’s real estate agency by a certain date. As with auctions you may not win.
• NEGOTIATION: Properties sold by negotiation often have a listed price. The buyers can offer more, or less than the price you want, and your agent will help handle the negotiation until you come to a mutually acceptable price.
MARKETING
Once you’ve chosen an agent the marketing campaign gets underway. Marketing is the activities the real estate agent does to promote your home to buyers.
• WHAT DOES MARKETING INCLUDE? Marketing is an essential component of getting the best price for your property, says Norwell. Your marketing package, includes photography, print and other advertising, mail box drops, email marketing, social media, open homes, and any other creative marketing method your agent deems worthwhile. Good agents have a bank of potential buyers in their database who they will contact when your property goes on the market. Spend money on really great photos and, if appropriate, videography, says Norwell. Real estate photographers now use drones, and a really good one will provide day and night photos and use excellent lighting. A good agent will get reach for you by listing on multiple listing sites and use a very wide range of social media, Norwell says. Some agents are getting very creative with social media and utilising new platforms such as TikTok. Don’t skimp on marketing. It may seem like a lot of money to spend, but a great marketing campaign will create competition, which could help you get a better price.
• CAST THE NET AS WIDE AS POSSIBLE: Steen Nielsen, from Ray White Remuera, says his key advice to vendors is to market the property properly. “It’s very tempting to take the easy option and just sell it to someone from an existing client-base through an agent, or to someone privately, but they do miss out on the broad market and the competition compared to if they market it well and go to auction with it. Some of the results we’re achieving in these markets here are mind-blowing at the auctions and it surprises us when it sells easily 10, 20, 25 per cent above our appraisal ranges simply because the right people have been there competing for it. If people don’t cast the net as wide as possible they are going to miss out.”
• He adds: “There’s a huge market out there I call the passive buyers so they’re not really searching the websites but they’re picking up the Herald, so the printed media is crucial because the passive buyers are often the more attractive buyers. They’re a bit more emotional about it. They haven’t researched the market for the last six months but they know what they like and they’re in a position to buy. I think that’s so important.” Vendors who ignore advice may miss out on that premium price, he says. “It’s so important people understand that one buyer more in that auction process can make a difference. Every bid is $10,000 at least so two or three bids from them, you know, it makes a big difference.”
Ray White Remuera agent Steen Nielsen says presentation is key. Photo / Ted Baghurst
PREPARING FOR SALE
Houses that appear well maintained are easier to sell. Take the time to do work on your home so that you can present it in the best possible way. You don’t want buyers walking away because of a crack in a wall, unpainted windowsills, or the smell of dog urine. It happens.
Sprucing up your home can make it more attractive to buyers. Photo / Getty Images
• WHAT WORKS NEEDS DOING? Preparation work ranges from decluttering and cleaning the property to within an inch of its life, to maintenance work and in some cases upgrades. It will help you improve that all important first impression, says Wilson. Water blasting the outside and paths and tidying up the entrance for a good first impression will make a huge difference to the saleability of your home. Inherently simple work such as a paint job can really pay off, says Wilson. Do be wary of overcapitalising your home. That’s spending more on work that you’ll get back in an increased sale price. A new kitchen and bathroom don’t always pay for themselves and the next owner may prefer to renovate to their own taste.
• HOME STAGING: Staging is presenting your home for sale by making it appealing to a wide range of potential buyers. Because humans buy property on emotion they can imagine themselves living in a staged home. Typically your furniture, rugs, plants, pictures and other accessories will be packed up and replaced with the staging company’s more desirable versions for the duration of the marketing period. It’s one of the reasons that properties often look like they come from the pages of home and garden magazines. You’re selling that lifestyle to the buyers by staging the home, says Norwell.
THE SALE PROCESS
Once you’ve decided to sell and signed with a real estate agent your property goes on the market, until which time it is sold, or taken off the market. Your agent will manage the sale process for you.
• OPEN HOMES: Most properties have open homes where potential buyers can visit and look around. The better your house looks and smells at the open homes, the greater your chance of selling. Your agent will help you make the most of your home.
• FEEDBACK: Agents will ask people at open homes for feedback, and they will have some of their own. That feedback can be brutal, says Wilson. Try to take it as a positive. If, for example, the problem is deferred maintenance, do the work.
• IF IT DOESN’T SELL: Sometimes properties don’t sell. If you can take it off the market until the summer, or next year, it might then sell, says Wilson. Do consider whether the price is right. You might just need to take a little less to get a sale.
• WHAT HAPPENS WHEN IT SELLS? When you sell a home you need to sign a contract for sale and purchase. Most likely you’ll use a standard contract. It’s unusual that a buyer will furnish a contract. Investors sometimes do this, however, and your lawyer should review additional clauses. Once the contract is signed the sale and purchase then becomes legally binding and the buyer must pay the deposit.
Sold! But what happens next? Photo / Supplied
• SETTLEMENT: The next important date is settlement. It’s when the house is formally transferred to the buyer. You must have moved out of the house by then or could be subject to penalties. If you are selling by auction, the settlement date will be fixed. With negotiation these dates can be negotiated. On settlement day you’ll hand over keys, garage door remotes and alarm codes to your lawyer for the buyer to collect.
• GETTING PAID: The money for the property is paid to your lawyer on settlement day. Any outstanding mortgage is repaid to the bank and you receive the remainder. If you’re selling and buying another home, you can often take your mortgage with you.
Congratulations. You’ve sold your first home and have no doubt learned a lot along the way.
