Short story
You have a 2+1 apartment for sale. The real market price is around CZK 4,000,000. You approach several real estate agencies and end up choosing the one where the broker will promise you the highest price, even higher than you expected. He will tell you with absolute certainty that he will sell the apartment for 5,000,000 CZK. To make it seem plausible, he will tell you that he was said to have sold a similar property recently for a similar amount. (Perhaps this is not true, perhaps a similar apartment actually sold, but for a significantly smaller amount).
Why would he tell you the truth? Because he needs to get your property up for bid, ideally on an exclusive contract. So he sets the price deliberately high in order to “drag” you away from the competition. The apartment is advertised. Interest is not. After 2-3 months, you ask what it looks like. The broker begins to explain that “now is a bad time”, “there are a lot of properties on offer”, “buyers are waiting”... and suggests a first discount of perhaps 300,000 CZK.
But the apartment is still above market price. Interest is still weak. After more months, the second discount comes, the demand for your apartment is still not. But you already need to sell, so you agree to another discount. You get to 4,000,000 CZK, that is, the price that other offices told you at the beginning.
The difference is that your apartment is now over half a year in advertising and, on top of that, in discounts.
And here comes the problem. The property will begin to act as a “lager”. People who are looking for a similar apartment look at the portals regularly. They see that the apartment has been offered for a long time, and it jumps in their heads:
“There must be something wrong with that apartment when no one bought it.” And now one more inconvenience. You want to end the cooperation, but you find that you have signed an exclusive representation. For a certain period of time, you can not put the apartment in another office. Time is running out, and it is often at that moment that investors who purposefully follow the “lagers” and are ready to buy below the price begin to come back.
Here we leave the story open. You can add it any way you think it will turn out.
We know one thing from practice: the right price right at the beginning is most often the fastest way to a good result. Property will sell more briskly, without the “lager sticker.” And you have the money in time for the next step (purchase, investment, settlement).
How to Recognize a Quality, Competent and Ethical Broker
1) The price is not determined “from the table”
A good broker sets the price only as soon as he knows the details of the property:
• personally visits the property and assesses the technical condition,
• passes technical documentation (acreage, layout, construction modifications, reconstruction),
• relies on real data and the local market (not on the seller's desire or “feeling”).
2) Can explain why just such a price
Ask questions. Ask a lot of questions and ask for specific answers:
• How did you arrive at the price?
• What will be the step-by-step sales process?
• Where will the offer be published everywhere (Sreality.cz, other portals, social networks, database of interested parties)?
• How often will you report to me and in what way?
• Will there be professional photos, possibly video or drone?
• What can I do as an owner to make a better sale (cleaning, editing, home staging)?
If the broker's answers are general, non-specific and unclear, this is a warning sign.
3) Has a traceable reputation and results
Do your own research:
• reviews on Google/Facebook,
• recommendations in the vicinity,
• references to specific orders,
• how long it has been operating in the region and how it communicates.
When someone is really good and honest, most of the time it gets known.
4) Doesn't push for a signature right away and gives you time
Don't sign anything under pressure. Fair broker:
• give time to think,
• allows you to read the contracts in peace,
• respond to additional questions,
He won't play the “we have to sign this today” game.
The worst decisions are made in emotion and in haste.
5) Not afraid of independent estimation
Do you want to be sure? Have the price confirmed by an independent appraiser.
It is important to distinguish:
• the bid price (what you see in the advertisement),
• the actual selling price (for how much was really sold).
Actual sales prices can be traced, for example, through price maps (paid) or from public data in connection with the cadastre and completed transactions. A broker who bases the price formation largely on what is in the advertisement is often shooting from the sidelines.
Do you want to independently discuss your property's current sale price?
If you want to discuss your sales strategy without obligation or check the real price, please contact us. We have an experienced appraiser who has been officially appraising properties in the Highlands for over 20 years. It can price your property for you and tell you what its true market value is. We will be happy to discuss the situation with you in peace and recommend the next course of action — the final decision will always be yours.
