Homeowners given chance to test property market for free

The property market maybe recovering but it's clearly not fast enough for some people. Homeowners who are considering selling their homes but are unsure what price their property might achieve are being offered the chance to "test" the market for free by Castle Estate Agents.

The Dublin agent is targeting homeowners with a deal perhaps aimed at restoring confidence to those who may have been shaken by recent reports showing price growth in the capital has eased.

“If like many people you are considering selling, but are unsure if current values allow you to move, you can test the market for FREE to determine the highest offers available for your property,” a flyer from the agent says.

Castle is offering those interested in selling a selection of marketing tools provided at its own expense. These include ads on Myhome.ie and Daft.ie, professional photography and “for sale” signage for outside a property. Castle operates a “no sale – no charge” policy.

Homeowners will typically pay between 1-2 per cent of the sale price to an agent for selling a property, as well as additional marketing expenses, which may cost up to a further €1,000.

However, while potentially attractive to homeowners, putative home buyers will likely find the prospect of a surge in properties being speculatively put on the market frustrating.

Visiting and vetting a property, getting mortgage approval for it and then even bidding on a property, possibly just to determine its highest possible value for the owner, who may not be then inclined to go ahead with a sale, may well annoy even the most patient of home buyers.

The move from Castle comes at a time when the rapid growth in house prices in the capital has started to ease, and homeowners are facing more uncertainty about what value their property might reach.

A boost in supply is one factor behind this, with figures from Myhome.ie showing that supply in Dublin is now at a three-year high. The property portal listed some 5,000 properties for sale in September 2015, up by 45 per cent on the same month in 2014. This boost in supply, combined with a decrease in borrowing power brought about by the Central Bank’s new lending restrictions, has led to a softening in price growth.