Our agents offer free market appraisals which are informal estimates of what your home may be worth.  This is determined by analyzing a home, recent neighbourhood home sales results, current market trends, plus other factors such as the agent’s insight into the features of your home that will create buyer interest.  Following this your agent will determine what your properties real estate price is likely to be on the current market.  The value is important as it helps you determine the listing price for your property in order for you to appeal to the most amount of potential buyers.  

Our local real estate agents understand the value of your biggest asset. We live and breathe real estate, we are across the local market, we know what properties are selling and what they are selling for, we know what buyers are looking for and what is happening in the wider real estate market.  While you may only buy or sell occasionally, an LJ Hooker agent is working in the local property market every day.  They would love to help you by sharing their expertise: Contact your local agent now

Doing your own Research into the Local Real Estate Market

In addition to a market appraisal, it is a good idea to do your own research into the property market - both from a national and local perspective, but how can you go about it?

1. Ask an LJ Hooker agent for a local market report packed with data from Core Logic and LJ Hooker.  This report is an informative easy to ready report that provides you with a unique insight into the performance of suburbs in  your local area, sales results, market trends, property data and more.
2. Check the times and dates of local open homes and up-coming auctions and attend as many as you can. The interest in these will help you understand the market conditions and help you gauge your home against the rest of the market.
3. Check in with your local real estate agent as they will be able to provide you with an abundance of free property sales information from a number of reliable sources.
4. The weekend paper’s property lift out is another valuable source of up to date market  information as well as recent sale information and auction results.
5. Websites like realestate.com.au and domain.com.au along with ljhooker.com.au are another good place to find out what is for sale in your neighbourhood. These sites also provide commentary and articles relating to current market conditions.

What is a Seller’s Market and how can it Affect Your Price?

A seller’s market occurs when buyer demand outweighs housing supply and greater competition will inevitably drive property prices up.  It often reflects the return of consumer confidence and a strong economy.

It is with the likelihood of competitive bidding, a seller’s market will see increased auction success. However, you need to take into consideration that the real estate market is very segmented; properties at the lower end generally always attract strong buyer interest, while properties at the high end may struggle for attention.

What Impact Does a Buyer’s Market Have on the Sale Price?

In a buyer’s market there are typically a large number of properties for sale and fewer buyers.  In essence it is when market conditions favour buyers.  This may come about because of rising interest rates and a slowing economy.

In a buyer’s market, sellers will generally need to be competitive with pricing in order to achieve a sale. Great results are still obtainable and your real estate agent should be able to offer the right advice and best approach.

Setting an asking price for your property

Your LJ Hooker market appraisal is a good starting point for determining your asking price.  However you also need to consider the following variables:

• Interest in a property peaks when it first becomes available - so a good agent will have already lined up a pool of genuine buyers who are knowledgeable about prices in the area and eager to buy.
• If you ignore market trends and price the property too high, prospective buyers may expect too much for their dollar and you will have unwittingly lost the positive impact of the initial exposure.
• Although buyers will often spend slightly more than they originally anticipated if they find their dream home, it is unwise for sellers to drive away genuine buyers by being overly ambitious.
• Unfortunately, the longer your property stays on the market the more 'stale' it becomes - buyers tend to associate an extended period of availability as a sign that something is wrong with the property.

Your agent is the ideal person to discuss your asking price with, they can help advise you as to what they believe will be the best price you will get for your property in the current market.