Despite market activity increasing in the first quarter or 2021, projections indicate that a portion of London properties fail to sell this year, remaining on the market beyond its time. And it’s not the properties’ fault…It’s the Real Estate Agents. This blog highlights three major ways Real Estate Agents fail their clients and how Rickman Properties London excels in each area.
Despite the post-Budget boost to the London property market and the ongoing attractiveness of prime Kensington and Chelsea real estate, some properties can stay on the housing market for months. External spectators may look on in confusion as the ‘FOR SALE’ sign outside an attractive property remains for a long period of time. The property is in a prime location, benefits from vast square footage and looks in a great state of repair. So, what is it?
According to a recent article informed by industry leaders and property data, over 50% of the property is sold with a second agent. In many circumstances, this can boil down to the following scenario: a client trusts an agency who peddles dodgy tactics to present themselves as an attractive agency, they appoint said agency as the sole agent responsible for selling their property, the agency is complacent and doesn’t give the client the time and attention they deserve, the property doesn’t arouse adequate serious interest as a result, the client finally goes to a different agency who is able to sell their property in an efficient and effective manner.
Today, we’ll be addressing three major reasons how a London agency can fail their client in this way, and how Rickman Properties delivers in these details.
London Real Estate Overvaluation
According to market data a year on from the first lockdown, increased activity in the property market is putting upwards pressure on housing, with house prices rising by 4.9% and apartment prices by 1.9% across the country. Whilst rising prices are good for the seller, an estate agent’s optimistic overvaluation of your property can result in some serious pitfalls.
A 2017 Which? study analysing thousands of property sales in England and Wales found that one in five properties (19%) had to be reduced by 5% or more before they were sold. The study concludes that overinflated valuations could be losing sellers as much as £4.3 billion and are significantly slowing down the time it takes to sell a property. Which? have further found a stark similarity between properties whose market price were reduced by more than 5% before a successful sale. Those properties were, on average, put on the market for £5,000 more than all other properties but were ultimately sold for £20,000 less. This highlights the potential financial pitfall incurred by an estate agent’s overvaluation, a tactic used by dodgy deals to pull prospective clientele in.
When putting your property on the market you need an agent experienced in selling or managing properties similar to yours. This way they can utilise their experience to deliver a considered property valuation to appropriately value your property. One of Rickman’s main strengths is that we have an unrivalled high success rate of selling properties in the Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea because of this. At Rickman, if you’re looking to sell, a current market appraisal is carried out by our Sales manager, supported by a core team with years of experience behind them. We then utilise both our local knowledge and extensive database of market trends and actual ‘SOLD’ prices to secure the sale. Our vendors have nothing but praise for our efficient, yet professional service.
A Limited Client Base
If an agency holds a limited client base of prospective buyers in the area, this can really stagnate the process of selling your property – for obvious reasons. Some agencies may talk the talk – suggesting they’ll get your property in front of the eyes of all the serious local buyers – but fail to walk the walk.
An independent Estate Agent depends on their reputation – an image built from demonstrable success and trustworthy work ethic. Rickman was selected as the Kensington Area Guild of Property Professionals Member, entrusting our team to exclusively represent the local property market within the invitation-only Guild. This is a testament to our reputation within the local area, and our 19-years of local knowledge and portfolio of connections. This has enabled us to sustain a large portfolio of prospective buyers who trust our work after seeing us as an established part of the Borough since 2001.
Weak marketing campaign
A strong digital shopfront is essential in an increasingly virtual world, especially since the Covid-19 pandemic has encouraged people to spend more time online and away from new ‘FOR SALE’ signs or shop front advertisements.
The Rickman Properties team is particularly strong within the marketing department – a proactive, not reactive disposition that wants to succeed for clients. And just because an Estate Agents is a local business doesn’t mean that corporate Estate agents have an edge over the national or international market. With the growing number of property websites, properties for sale or let under a local, independent agency can still be advertised nationally and internationally. All our properties are advertised on Zoopla, Rightmove, PrimeLocation and OnTheMarket.com so you know you’re getting as many eyes on your property as possible.
But in 2021, relying solely on the traditional www. website when advertising a property misses out on a large demographic of online users. Recent research finds that Facebook brings in 2.7 billion monthly active users, Instagram 1 billion and Twitter 187 million daily users. Estate agents are being increasingly called on to capture the newer marketing method of social media, as people diversify their browsing and purchasing habits to Facebook, Instagram and other platforms. The team at Rickman Properties are particularly adept at marketing our properties for sale on all major social media platforms – including Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn – so that we can capture both the widest possible online audience and a targeted selection of users and direct them towards your property.
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For enquiries about selling your property in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, please contact us on 020 7937 9777 or email us at info@rickmanproperties.com
