Price low and create footfall to secure a sale

The secret to selling in the current market is to focus on creating footfall in a property by pricing low to start with, says Cluttons, often resulting in a higher than expected final sale price.

Cluttons has experimented with pricing properties at 40% below the peak price of August 2007, which has created serious competition amongst buyers, resulting in sales at around 25-30% off peak price.

James Hyman, Partner for Residential Sales at Cluttons, comments: "It is better to undercut the current market level and consequently generate plenty of interest and lots of viewings, creating a situation when buyers are competing to secure the property. In our experience, this will result in a faster sale and higher final sale price than pricing the property more expensively, creating less footfall and failing to attract any potential buyers.

"While some vendors do need persuading that pricing below the rest of the market is a wise move, we are confident that the market does naturally correct itself, settling at the appropriate sale price."

Cluttons recently sold a four-bedroom penthouse apartment in Shad Thames, which was marketed at £3 million, around 40% lower than it would have been priced in August 2007. Within a fortnight of being on the market, the property sold for £3.25 million.

Similarly, Cluttons sold an unmodernised two-bedroom maisonette in Balham which was marketed at £200,000 and went to sealed bids with 11 offers, resulting in a final sale price of £232,000. The sale was agreed within ten days of the property going onto the market.