Sell Early for Best Results

Should you accept an early offer on your home or hold out for a better price?

According to a recent study by RP Data, the longer you wait, the less you may get. It seems a quick sale is a good sale, with quick sales experiencing low levels of discounting while properties that sit on the market for longer typically see excessive levels of discount.

Over the past five years, homes that sold in less than 30 days recorded an average vendor discount of 3.9 per cent. Homes that sold between 30 and 60 days attracted an average discount of 5.2 per cent while homes sold after more than 120 days on the market were discounted by 10.1 per cent.

While not every home is going to get an offer within the first 30 days, a property is most likely to receive offers when it is newly listed for sale. Buyers rush out to see a newly listed home – they know the market and are ready to move on the right home. For this reason it’s important for sellers to set a realistic price in order to get a quick sale with a low level of discount. The longer the property is on the market, the more its perceived value erodes as buyers start to wonder why it hasn’t been sold.