Talking Property

Vendors feel robbed of what is rightfully theirs - a 2006 price says ISABEL MORTON

DESPERATE ESTATE agents are adopting a different approach these days when dealing with wayward vendors.

Where sellers are few and far between, the few who are on the agent’s books are proving difficult to manage. They are just not complying with the agent’s new set of rules.

In an effort to ensure that vendors are gradually eased through the process and remain docile and compliant, they must be cultivated, complimented and then quickly brought under control before they start becoming unruly and opinionated.

Regularly reminded of how it is now a “buyer’s market”, some homeowners are reluctant to sell, as they feel that they are being pressurised into giving their property away “for half nothing”.

The fact that they might be upgrading to a property which they will purchase at an equally reduced price is totally beside the point. Vendors will still feel robbed of what they feel is rightfully theirs – a 2006 Celtic Tiger selling price for their property. Anything less will always be a disappointment and there are plenty of disappointed vendors these days.

When called in to give their professional opinion on a property and its value, agents will make all the right sounds while avoiding saying anything which may later be used against them. In other words, they avoid giving any opinion on the possible sale price until they have first established precisely what price the vendor expects their property to achieve.

They will compliment the property, appear positive and hopeful, and generally give the seller reason to believe that “all will be well” and that their “magnificent” property will soon attract a buyer.

Agents, however, must also extract vital information, such as whether or not the vendor is under financial pressure to sell and, if so, how flexible they are likely to be regarding the eventual sale price. They like advance warning of the possibility of the vendor causing them grief by sticking to their asking price and refusing to drop a cent. Understandably, they just want property transactions to get moving again. And, as far as their fees are concerned, a percentage of something is better than a percentage of nothing.

Ideally, they would have vendors “stop their nonsense”, reduce their asking prices and accept pretty much any offer that comes their way.

Estate agents will rarely burst the vendor’s “bubble” immediately. They will gradually build up a trusting relationship with the seller over a period of time, gently coaxing them along the slow “path of realisation” in the hope that the penny may eventually drop.

They will start by quickly becoming the seller’s “best friend” and will metaphorically hold their hand, as they guide them through the gruesome process.

The relationship will be carefully cultivated via frequent phone calls, texts and emails. In fact, agents will attempt to keep tabs on every thought which passes through the unfortunate vendor’s mind throughout the duration of the (sometimes lengthy) sales campaign.

As the marketing campaign progresses, the agent will gradually drop little hints about how they are “disappointed” with the way the campaign is going and how potential buyers don’t seem to be able to see the property’s obvious development potential, or how the road might be a little busy or the garden a little small or indeed any one of a myriad of other excuses. The gushing and enthusiasm initially expressed will wane bit-by-bit as the marketing campaign stalls.

Gradually they will wear the vendor down by picking holes in the property and coming up with a selection of reasons why the asking price should be lowered.

This marketing ploy of cutting the asking price to the bone is sometimes successful as it can bring about a mini auction, where multiple bids are received on a property, which is perceived as being “good value”.

On the other hand, sometimes lowering the asking price can backfire, as buyers will smell fear and desperation and will immediately assume that they can lower the price even further. Nobody wants to pay the full price these days, as everyone wants to feel that they are getting a bargain.

Estate agents, however, can be known to become rather tetchy if the sales campaign slows down and the vendors are still refusing to reduce the price they are willing to accept for their property.

Irritated by the seller’s apparent lack of acceptance of the current situation, agents resent the fact that they are wasting their time trying to promote a house which, in their view, is overpriced.

Vendors and their selling agents have enjoyed a long honeymoon period, but the marriage has now hit a rocky patch and their relationship is suffering.

As both parties have been shocked, upset and hurt by recent events, perhaps it’s now time to be sympathetic, patient and understanding of each other.