Spring and summer ideal to sell homes

“ALTHOUGH it is one of the most hackneyed and often repeated pieces of wisdom that residential estate agencies communicate to the public, it nevertheless remains true that spring and early summer are ideal times to sell a home,” says Bill Rawson, chairperson of the Rawson Property Group.

“Not only is the weather good, but the long evenings make it easier for people to get out and look at homes and to meet estate agents. Many people will know whether they are to be transferred at the end of the year or if they are in line for earning more. It is also a period in which parents start looking for new schools for their children and it is an excellent time to present one’s garden and home in the best possible way.”

This last point, says Rawson, is exceptionally important and sellers cannot be reminded too often that every rand spent on smartening their home will be a good investment.

Such initiatives as replanting the garden to give it more colour, upgrading and cleaning the swimming pool and inside the house, cleaning all carpets, curtains and tiles can and do make a huge difference to visitors’ impressions.

Above all, see that the approach to the home is looking good because this is the first thing that prospective buyers will see and it may well set the tone.

Anyone selling a home at the moment, adds Rawson, should be looking back on a fairly lengthy period in which they have been able to achieve above inflation growth on their home’s value and they are therefore in a position to make a significant profit.

The Absa home loan indices report for November last year shows that despite a slowdown in price growth this year, medium and large sized homes have seen more or a less consistent growth path since early 2012 and on an annualised basis are now respectively showing 7 and 8% nominal growth increases.

Average prices in these two categories are now R1,17 million and R1,8 million respectively.

“When you compare these prices to those of a decade ago, the old message is reinforced; investing in a home for their family to live in is the wisest move a family can make.”