The Block recently noticed estate agents signs boasting that properties have been “sale agreed in 24 hours”. We’ve all heard of the quick sale but we couldn’t help wondering what’s the awful hurry. And why some agents feel the need to flag the speedy time line.
Could it be that agents are trying to create the impression that there’s a buying frenzy going on in the market?
Not so, says Patrick Leonard, from Castle Estates, who recently had a similar sale in Glasnevin and who says the reason his branch flags the 24-hour turnaround is not to hype the market but because “it shows that things are happening in the market. Many people think the market is still slow and the reality is it hasn’t been slow for the past 12 months, there has been real activity.”
Leonard says in the case of the house that sold in Glasnevin, the buyer “wanted to live in that area and on that road and made a move as soon as the property went on the market. The vendor wanted to do business and I couldn’t overrule that.”
In some of its online ads, Castle Estates says it has had 120 sale agreeds in three months in the Glasnevin area. But aren’t sale agreeds known to fall through ? “I’ve had four fall through in the last year,” says Leonard, “a good agent will vet their buyer first, while some agents will go sale agreed to the highest bidder.”
Some Northside agents believe that their stomping ground was lagging 12 months behind the south side of the city in terms of activity but has recently seen an upsurge of activity. They say, if priced right, houses in more established areas go sale agreed within four weeks .
