What will the owner take? Navigating property asking prices in Greater Hobart
“What will the owner take?” “How much do they want?” “What price is the owner looking for?”
Whichever way this question is posed it would have to be one of the most common questions an agent is asked, and navigating property asking prices in greater Hobart isn’t always as straightforward as one might think.
In this article, we will go over some of the reasons for this and delve into why sometimes property sellers aren’t even sure of the answer to this question.
From a Seller's Perspective
We all know that when we are selling, we try and hope for the highest price possible. Let’s face it: sentimental value has and always will be higher than market value. In our eyes, our homes are always worth more than our competitor's/neighbours' homes. This is our family home, we have shared many happy years and accumulated numerous sentimental memories, it must be worth more as we have a better bird bath in our garden!
On the other hand, if we are motivated, we want to price the property to sell, but we don’t want to give it away either. Interestingly as homeowners, the price we are willing to accept for our property sometimes we don’t even really know. We all have that dream figure in our heads that we would happily take, but is it really achievable? Sometimes it's only when an official offer of contract is put in front of us that reality hits - this is real, and someone wants to buy my home, what price will we actually accept? Is it fair and reasonable or could I get more? What will I actually take to make this happen?
Each owner’s circumstances and reasons for selling can vary dramatically when listing their home for sale and the owners can often do the totally opposite of what the agent is expecting. Some owners will counter-offer higher than expected and some may counter-offer and accept lower than expected.
There are also many other variables throughout the selling process that can affect and change what price the owners are willing to accept. How long their property has been on the market, why they are selling, and are they still selling for the same reasons as when they initially decided to sell? Has there been any other offers previously made on the home throughout the campaign and are there currently any other offers on the table right now? Anyone or all of these factors can change the outcome and what price the owner is willing to accept.
From a Buyer's Perspective
Let’s look at the other side: when we are buying, we put on our buyer’s hat and have no sentimental value yet towards the home we are looking at buying. As buyers, we want to buy a home for the cheapest price we can get it for and that we are happy to pay. The price we are happy to pay will vary on every home we find ourselves interested in as our opinion of value will change from home to home depending on how it makes us feel and what it has to offer.
As buyers trying to figure out what the owners want with a multitude of pricing strategies to navigate, such as offers over, expressions of interest, price range guide, offers invited and auction, it is certainly no surprise that “what will the owners take?” is one of the most common questions an agent is asked. Added to this, assessing the market interest and understanding if there are currently any other offers on the table and if I am in competition with other buyers, it is not surprising that buyers can feel that property prices in greater Hobart can be a real guessing game. No one wants to be left wondering if they have paid too much for the home, but we also don’t want to lose our dream home to someone else for not paying that extra $10,000 or $20,000.
From a Property Agent's Perspective
Now as an agent answering this question, it is not as easy and simple as it seems. With so many variables in play, in particular, the home not being theirs to make the final decision, an agent cannot really answer to the dollar what the owners are willing to accept. They may have some idea of roughly what the sellers will take, but the actual figure will ultimately depend on what is happening in the owner's lives, their motivation, the market conditions, and the specific details of your offer.
If not handled properly by the agent, the answer to this question can have the possibility to be disastrous. On one side, it has the potential to lose the trust of the buyer and result in negotiations coming to an end with no sale for the owner. On the other side, it has the potential to result in lower offers or buyers who are not willing to negotiate.
To Wrap It Up
So, should the question of what the owners are willing to take be asked? YES, IT SHOULD if you actually have a genuine interest in the home, otherwise, it really is totally irrelevant. You may not get an answer of the exact dollar they are willing to take, but you will get a feeling of the range you will need to be in to have the opportunity to negotiate with the owner.
More importantly, as a buyer, you should ask yourself one final question after you ask, “What will they take?” And that is, “Would I buy this home if I could get it for a price I am happy with?”
If you answered yes to this question, then make the offer. Let's face it, there are only going to be 3 answers, YES, NO or LET’S NEGOTIATE. What’s the worst thing that can happen? If you don’t make the offer, you will never know.
Thinking of selling your greater Hobart home or have more questions on how to navigate the pricing of property? Contact a MIX Specialist to sell your property, discover the power of your property, and unleash its full potential.
Written by Raimo Lavia - Sales Property Representative - MIX Property Group