Testing the market - how to soft launch your property before committing to going live on the portals
If you are about to put your home on the market in Luton, Dunstable or the surrounding villages, read this article before you go live with your property launch!
When we put our property on the market for sale, it can feel kind of final. You need to have the strategy right from the off and get the pricing right before you launch to the market. There's almost no margin for error or opportunity for change without it costing you thousands of pounds. But what if there is a way to test the market without jeopardising your chance of a sale?
As you are no doubt already aware, there is never an exact price for a property. There is no crystal ball or guarantee that you will achieve a set price. Your valuation estimates are just that, an estimate. An opinion on what the agent thinks they will be able to sell your property for, based on the market conditions at the time, supply and demand, and comparisons with other properties that have sold recently.
Years ago, it was pretty common practice to test the marketing price of a property. To put a property on the market at a price that might be a little keen and see what happens. If it sells, great. If it doesn't, no worries, you tried. Sellers would know that the price they hoped to achieve was too high, and they would then feel comfortable with a lower figure. Sadly, this isn't the case anymore. Why? Because of the information and data available to buyers searching for a property. When a property is listed online, there is a history attached. Buyers can see when you initially listed the property and at what price. There is an algorithm to consider, which was never an issue previously.
Once you put your property on the market, there is no real way to alter the pricing or the strategy other than a reduction. The buyers will not support a sudden increase in the marketing price. If you don't receive interest or viewing enquiries within the first 4-6 weeks, you will likely find that interest dwindles, and you'll have to consider a price reduction to boost the interest again.
Unfortunately, if you spend those initial four weeks at a price that is a little high, the resulting price reduction will ultimately result in an end sale price that is lower than you could have achieved otherwise.
It can be very damaging to your sale if you over-egg the marketing price at the point of launch to the market. The first 4 weeks are when your property will get the most publicity and promotion across the social media platforms of your estate agency, their mailouts to their database of buyers and the property portal websites. If you spend those valuable weeks at a price that is a little too high, you will waste them.
There is no need to worry about testing the market while prices rose post-pandemic. When the market increases, you will either sell for higher than your marketing price because the demand is so high, or your property may take a little longer to sell, but the market will eventually meet your pricing.
But when the market is unpredictable and a little harder to read, you might want to test the market rather than commit to a pricing strategy. And now there is a way…
It is possible to promote a new property on the market discretely, showcasing the property without using social media, property portal websites or for-sale boards. This way, you can get a feeling of the buyers' appetite in the market without broadcasting your price. You won't have to tell your friends and family about your plans to sell until you are sure the pricing strategy is correct, and you can prevent those nosey neighbours from snooping around and judging your marketing.
If the soft launch of your property to the market doesn't get a good response, there's no harm done. You can simply adjust the strategy and launch to the wider open market with an adjusted price. This way, you will launch fully to the market at a more accurate price and won't have wasted those all-important initial 4 weeks of premium marketing trying to test that your pricing is correct.
If you are interested in testing the market with a soft launch to ensure your property's marketing price is correct, contact me today to discuss a marketing strategy and book a valuation of your home.