I’m thinking of selling my home – how much is it worth?
Raine and Horne Murraylands’ Michael Cox and Casey DeMichele take a look at a critical issue for any vendor at a time when the answer may change from month to month.
This sponsored story is brought to you by Raine and Horne Murraylands.
If you know one thing about the Murraylands’ property market, it’s that prices aren’t what they used to be.
Ever since COVID-19 arrived, an average property in Murray Bridge has more than doubled in value – the biggest growth, by percentage, of any urban area in Australia.
That growth hasn’t slowed down yet, either – analysts PropTrack estimate that prices in country South Australia have gone up by 12.5 per cent in the past year, more than any other region.
If you’re thinking of selling, you might be getting excited right about now.
But what actually goes into the process of putting a price tag on your property?
Raine and Horne Murraylands’ Michael Cox and Casey DeMichele can offer some advice.
Prices are getting harder to predict
Once upon a time, you would work out the value of your property based on local market research.
You’d look at properties sold in your neighbourhood over the past 12 months or so – those with the same number of bedrooms, on a similarly sized block, of a similar age – and you’d get a fair idea about what your place might be worth.
That can still be a useful starting point, Michael says, but it won’t give an accurate idea about what the market might be doing at that moment.
“Pricing is less consistent these days,” he says.
Sale prices that are more than three to six months old are likely to be completely irrelevant, Casey says.
The market has flipped around
Another characteristic of today’s market is that supply and demand have shifted dramatically.
Pre-COVID, a large number of properties were available at any given time, and a limited number of buyers were in the market to purchase them.
These days, the pool of buyers is much deeper, but there are fewer properties around at any given time, as many get snapped up within days.
Instead of introducing buyers to a range of properties which might suit their budget and needs, real estate agents like Michael and Casey might approach things the other way around, and introduce a vendor to the prospective buyers they already know are on the lookout.
“Selling a property is going to happen these days, without too much stress,” Michael says.
“But getting your agent to set the right marketing strategy and maximise that price can be a difference of 10, 20, 50 thousand dollars.”
Don’t go overboard
Having said that, it is still possible to get a bit over-excited about the kind of returns you might get from selling a property in 2025.
Agents like Michael and Casey can help you set reasonable expectations about what a property like yours might be worth.
They’ll help you walk the line between maximising your return and scaring people off.
“The higher (your sale price) gets, the more it reduces the number of potential buyers,” Michael says.
“But there are still quite a number of people (looking to buy) out there.
“Anything around $550,000 and under typically attracts a crazy number of people.”
There’s no substitute for an in-person appraisal
Want to know the best way to value your property accurately?
Get the experts at Raine and Horne Murraylands to complete a free appraisal of your property today.
Michael, Casey or one of their colleagues will visit your property, have a look at any work you might have had done to it, and think about the features it offers.
Like you, they’ll do some market research around what has sold locally in recent months.
But they will also consider which buyers are on the market at the time you plan to sell, what their priorities are and which of them might be interested.
The type of conversation you’ll have may vary, depending whether you’re ready to go to market or still thinking about doing so a bit further down the track.
“We want to give clients a realistic expectation around what they might achieve, but also set a strategy for how we might exceed that,” Michael says.
“We’ll go through all the things we’d suggest to prepare a property for market, and not just the cost.
“At the end of the day, we believe we can net you a lot more money.”
- Request an appraisal: Fill in the form at www.raineandhorne.com.au.
- More information: Visit www.raineandhorne.com.au/murraylands, call 8532 3833 or drop into Raine and Horne Murraylands’ office at 4 Seventh Street, Murray Bridge.
Advertising to more than 20,000 highly engaged locals can do wonders for your business. Call Jane Intini on 0418 835 768 or email jane@murraybridge.news.
Peri Strathearn
