Selling - Should I change estate agent?

poker--addict

Hi all,

House has been for sale for over 2 years now. It is a large 4/5 Bed dwelling on a half acre on the edge of a busy town 45-50 minutes from Dublin City Centre. Outside of Dublin, the market remains slow in the +350K bracket. We are not in a rush to sell but still we wonder if changing estate agent might assist in attracting a few more viewers?

In the day of the internet and daft.ie for facilitating a buyers search I am inclined to think it does not matter but does anyone have a different opinion or experience?

DubCount

Some Agents are better are marketing properties than others. Check out MyHome/Daft for properties in the same area and see if some agents have better photos or descriptions than others. Have there been any viewings (and was there any feedback from the agent - e.g. rooms too cluttered etc.)?

With 2 years on the market though, it sounds to me like price point might be more the issue. You may have to accept the market price is just not as high as you are looking for.

godtabh

poker--addict wrote: »

Hi all,

House has been for sale for over 2 years now. It is a large 4/5 Bed dwelling on a half acre on the edge of a busy town 45-50 minutes from Dublin City Centre. Outside of Dublin, the market remains slow in the +350K bracket. We are not in a rush to sell but still we wonder if changing estate agent might assist in attracting a few more viewers?

In the day of the internet and daft.ie for facilitating a buyers search I am inclined to think it does not matter but does anyone have a different opinion or experience?

We where trying to sell earlier in the year.

Met 7 agents. Some where thinking crazy money others more reasonable. We went middle of the road.

From the get go that agent was a disaster (scheduled the first viewing during Ireland's first game in the 6 Nations!). He last a couple of months and I got ride of him when he showed no interest in the house.

Second one was better. A bit more engaged. Went sale agreed only for our mortgage offer to lapse and we couldn't get it renewed.

The moral here is if the agent isnt working for you he isnt working and get rid.

Out of interest where are you based? We have been looking outside of Dublin in that price range with land but havent seen anything we liked (except for one or two)

Atlantic Dawn

I presume they have it on both Daft and Myhome, if they don't change estate agent. They should have a minimum of 10 good photos of the place, if they don't change agent.

Lumen

I was looking at that sort of property last year in Meath. As someone used to living closer to Dublin, I expected a strong discount compared to anything further in, but the vendors/EA wouldn't budge on price.

You could try changing agent but TBH the most likely reason it hasn't sold is some combination of the property looking unattractive and your asking price being too high.

draiochtanois

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poker--addict

3 months? Outside of Dublin not much over 350,000 is moving in 3 months! The vast majority are struggling to afford a 3-bed semi. Bar a few towns on the Dublin border I would say anything outside of Dubin above 285,000 is moving very slowly indeed. There are very few who can achieve the higher mortgages so no agent will be setting expectations of a quick sell.

The general opinion so far seems to indicate that the agent does matter, even in the day when buyers have access to basically everything on daft etc?

jsd1004

poker--addict wrote: »

Hi all,

House has been for sale for over 2 years now. It is a large 4/5 Bed dwelling on a half acre on the edge of a busy town 45-50 minutes from Dublin City Centre. Outside of Dublin, the market remains slow in the +350K bracket. We are not in a rush to sell but still we wonder if changing estate agent might assist in attracting a few more viewers?

In the day of the internet and daft.ie for facilitating a buyers search I am inclined to think it does not matter but does anyone have a different opinion or experience?

Sell it yourself. You have tons more knowledge and interest than any auctioneer. List it low on daft.ie to generate interest and then take bids from there. Do open viewings to minimize hassle. As you say in this day and age with daft there is no need for auctioneers. Not to mention save yourself thousands on fees. Once a price is agreed tell them to lodge a 5% deposit with your solicitor and let him take it from there.

draiochtanois

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poker--addict

I am actually seeking opinion for someone else so no, I am not connected enough to be a dreamer

The argument that slow sale means priced incorrectly is for another thread but suffice to say it is one that is too black and white and massively flawed at the upper end of the market.

I have just bought a home in the higher brackets and I have seen the lack of supply of houses and buyers. When buying it was obvious to me that in the wider area that anything over 285K was beyond most buyers. If the threshold for the majority of buyers money is 285 thousand and your house is guide priced by all agents at 600,000 dropping it to 450,000 will not drastically change the number of potential buyers. If there are only a few buyers available to you do you wait if you are in the position to do so or are you suggesting no house should have a guide price over 285K?

draiochtanois

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newacc2015

I heard someone once say before, that before picking your agent. Call up about a property they have and see how hard they sell it to you. Some of the 1% fee estate agents what they house gone off their books ASAP as they wont make much on it. Where as agents closer to 2% IMO are hunger for the sale

Parchment

newacc2015 wrote: »

I heard someone once say before, that before picking your agent. Call up about a property they have and see how hard they sell it to you. Some of the 1% fee estate agents what they house gone off their books ASAP as they wont make much on it. Where as agents closer to 2% IMO are hunger for the sale

This is a good idea - even view a house they are selling and see how they perform.

Lumen

draiochtanois wrote: »

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There's no point attempting to work out what potential buyers might have to spend, since it totally depends on how much equity/savings/gifts/inheritances they have, and that's unknowable.

Plenty of people buy properties for >500k with cash. Not many as a percentage of the total, but you only need one.

There is property for sale in this country from 100k to millions and they all find buyers if they're priced right and really for sale.

Miaireland

Might be worth getting a friend/relative to ring and enquire about the property. Moght be worth getting them to view it and see if the seller is really pushing the house or is pushing elsewhere

bleary

Two years with the same agent, the house is stale whatever else. I would assume it's not really for sale if I saw that.I would change agents just on that basis

bleary

bleary wrote: »

Two years with the same agent, the house is stale whatever else. I would assume it's not really for sale if I saw that.I would change agents just on that basis

Agreed. I would take it off the market and rest it until the springtime, then put it back with a new agent.
Also look at it objectively and determine why it hasn't sold. Not everything can be laid at the door of the agent.

shakencat

I really want to see this house....

JustAThought

if you're in the middle of changing agent for the third time maybe you shoukd consider advertising & promoting it yourself? Seems daft might be an avenue? You will be more comitted & may have more success that others!
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Do daft seriously not use estate agents???