Q. I’m selling my apartment and have 3 offers on the table from different parties; trouble is they are all stuck at the same figure which is lower than my expectations. I need to sell though and feel if I keep asking for more money they will all walk and I will end up with no one, what should I do?
A. Hmmm yes what should you do? In the good old days the solution would be easy, without question we would invite all parties to take part in sealed bids, encouraging each of them to give us their best and final bid on the property, and most serious buyers would be more than happy to participate in the hope that they may secure the property. Today however, the market is still a little fragile as it starts its road to recovery and options such as sealed bids are not such a good idea as the buyers don’t feel comfortable with any kind of pressure. They still feel they are in control of the market and in the driving seat when it comes to scenarios such as this. They remain reluctant to be forced into a corner as they feel they could maybe get a competitive deal else where. But isn’t there a severe shortage of stock and doesn’t that mean that it’s a sellers market? I hear you, and yes that’s correct there is a shortage of good stock but the sellers are definitely not in control simply because there is not the volume of buyers out there that we are used to and financing is still not as easy as it used to be. Personally I would advise you to look at each potential buyer individually and discuss them at length with your agent to determine who is in the best position financially as well as considering their emotional attachment to the property. In my experience a purchaser that is buying to live in the property is usually a little more committed to the purchase than an investment buyer who will be considerably more rational and move on to the next property if need be.