Choosing the right broker.
This list is in no particular order but this one would probably be the most important step and the first thing sellers in the Dubai real estate market should be doing. Look on property portals such as PropertyFinder and Bayut to see which agents feature more predominantly in your area. Take a look into specifics like how many Premium and Featured listings (Named Signature and Hot listings on Bayut) a company allocates to this area. This will give you a better idea of how much a company is spending on marketing properties in your area. The more premium, featured, signature, and hot listings that are allocated to properties in your area, the more buyers this company is likely to register and therefore the more viewings they’ll be able to book before your property hits the portals. Another key marketing tool to look out for is if the properties are ‘verified’ on PropertyFinder and ‘checked’ / ‘tru-checked’ on Bayut. The more verified, checked and tru-checked listings that are on these portals, the better care agents in a particular company are taking to service their sellers. Finally, a seller should be checking what their general marketing looks like. Are the photos good quality? Does the description read well with no typos/spelling mistakes? Is the information on the listing correct? Once you have found 3 or 4 different companies that you like the look of in your area, it’s time to invite them round for a ‘market appraisal’. They’ll need to come to your home to look at the property and give you an indication on the sort of price they’ll expect to achieve for your property. During this process, you’ll want to ask the broker plenty of questions so you get an idea of how they operate and what they can do for you to sell your home. A few key questions to ask these brokers would be.
- How long have you been a real estate broker specializing in the area?
Don’t assume that the agent who has been operating in the area the longest will do the best job for you, but this question will give you a good indication of how experienced they are and how much knowledge they have of your area. An agent that can answer buyers’ questions straight away, for example, where the pool and park are located, will likely have a better chance of winning the buyers’ trust, and buyers will usually choose to buy from a broker that they trust.
- What can you offer me in terms of marketing if I chose to list my property with you?
If your agent discusses the importance of Premium listings on PropertyFinder, Signature Listings on Bayut, and professional photos, then you may be onto a winner. These 3 things alone should an agent do nothing else, will get more leads than most of the other agents in Dubai who are not giving them to their clients.
- Do you work / conduct viewings on weekends?
Most motivated agents in Dubai will always work on weekends, after all, when do most buyers have their free time to look for properties? But not all will. An agent that isn’t prepared to show buyers your property on weekends will be missing out on important viewing numbers. Real estate is a numbers game, the more buyers you have through your door, the better chance you’re going to achieve the best possible price the market has to offer.
- What have been your recent sale transactions?
An agent who is successfully operating in your area will be able to roll off the tongue properties that he has recently sold. You’ll get an idea of how motivated an agent is to sell your home by how many he has recently sold and some of the properties may serve as good comparative options to the property you wish to sell. Don’t be afraid to ask the agent to see the signed sales contracts with the sold price on, a successful agent will be delighted to showcase his recent transactions.
Work with a broker on an exclusive basis
A step that divides opinions amongst property owners in Dubai. The general consensus is the more brokers you have working on a property, the more viewings you’ll have and therefore the best price you’ll achieve. I mean after all, if you’re listed with every agent operating in your area, you can’t lose out, right? Wrong. One thing we have noticed over the years in Dubai real estate is that a buyer will view a property with broker ‘x’ and then look online at the various agents marketing the villa and call each one of them asking them if they can get them the property for a cheaper price than they have been quoted by broker ‘x’. For example, broker ‘x’ tells the buyer on the viewing that the list price is AED 2,500,000. The buyer then calls broker ‘y’ and asks them if they can get the property cheaper. Agent ‘y’ says they can close the deal at AED 2,450,000. The buyer then tries calling agent ‘z’ who tells them they can close the deal even cheaper. Thus, resulting in the buyer thinking they can get the property for a cheaper price than what’s been agreed with the seller. If you have found a broker who invests in his marketing package, maximizes the exposure of the property, is knowledgeable and experienced, trustworthy, and takes great photos, there is no need to use multiple brokers to sell your property, and the buyer can only buy the villa though your exclusive broker, so the price is the price. If they don’t want to pay the right price, move on to the next buyer. The other thing to remember is that a property listed with multiple agents may appear to the buyer as though the seller is desperate and looking for a quick sale. Buyers who believe this aren’t likely to offer the best price in the market.
Get the property cleaned, painted, and staged
As a broker, one of the worst things we can encounter is when we find a new great listing that we know we can sell, only to find the property is dusty, filled with clutter, and just generally not in the best of conditions. The best thing a seller can do before taking the property to the market and having viewings is to get the property painted with fresh white paint, deep cleaned, and tidied up. You can even go one step further and stage the property with modern furniture. The property will show a lot better during a viewing and this relatively small investment will see returns in the form of a lot better offers from potential buyers. There are places you can rent furniture from for a few months if you didn’t want to buy it – as furniture can be expensive!
Price the property correctly
The best buyers in the market will have often been looking for several weeks and gotten an idea of what they like and what price they’ll be prepared to pay for it. Pricing your property too high, to begin with, in the hope, you’ll achieve above market, with the view you’ll adjust the list price after 4-6 weeks if it doesn’t sell, is not the right way to start. The best buyers in the market will be put off by your list price and will decline to view in the first instance, resulting in you losing potential offers from them. Listen to your chosen broker’s advice on what the maximum price would be to list the property that wouldn’t deter the best buyers. Most major property portals will tell a buyer how long the property has been listed for, and if you’ve priced your property too high and it’s stayed on the market for longer than 8 weeks, the buyer will be questioning why it’s still on the market. The truth will be that you priced yourself too high, to begin with and after 10 weeks of marketing and multiple price reductions, your property is now the best option for the buyer. But the buyer will be thinking that because no one else has decided to buy the property in 10+ weeks, maybe they shouldn’t too. They’ll be thinking that there’s something wrong with the property that other buyers have found out that isn’t visible to the naked eye when they come to view. So, price your property attractively from day 1 and create some urgency amongst the buyers in the market. And remember, the first offer is usually the best!
Be available and flexible for requested viewing times
I don’t have enough fingers on my hands to count the number of times I’ve had the ideal buyer for a property only for the viewing time as requested by the buyer not to be suitable for the seller and the buyer opting to buy something else that they can get an internal inspection on. If your property is vacant then this step will be a relatively easy one for you. A lot of sellers will leave their front door open for brokers to show around the clock. If you don’t feel comfortable doing this (and this would be understandable if you’ve followed step no3 and had the property staged) then giving your chosen broker a key to access the villa whenever they want would be the best option. For properties that have a tenant living in them, around the clock viewings may not be possible. Getting 2 or 3 times a week from your tenant that they’ll be able to accommodate would be a good alternative. This should be enough access that you don’t lose out on too many potential buyers. If you’re living in the property yourself and you want to achieve the best possible price for your property, try your utmost to cater for every viewing as requested by your broker. I appreciate people have busy lives, especially in Dubai, but limiting the number of viewings you decline will be a big step in the right direction of achieving the best price the market has to offer at any given time.
Sell your property with the view the property is vacant on transfer.
Very simply put, if your property is sold with a tenant and the buyer can’t move in straight away, you’re likely ruling out all the end user buyers in the market. This will have a detrimental effect on the offers you receive as they’ll likely be from investors who want a cheap house/apartment to invest in.
Marketing and Exposure
This should be already discussed with your chosen broker but to achieve the best possible price you’ll want to do the following.
- Provide your broker with the documents they’ve requested including a signed Form A so that they can list the property online
- Make sure your broker advertises on PropertyFinder and Bayut
- Make sure your broker can offer you a Premium Listing on PropertyFinder and Signaure listing on Bayut
- Have your broker market the property on their social media channels such as Facebook, Instagram and TikTok. These avenues are cheap tools that help to maximize your exposure and enquiries on properties via social media are in rapid incline.
- Professional Photos. Buyers buy with their eyes. The better the photos, the more viewings you’ll have and in turn the better price you’ll end up achieving for the property
- Video Tours / 360 Tours – Another tool we brokers use to entice buyers to make an enquiry on a property. Photos won’t always show all aspects of the property, which is where videos and 360 tours come in
Use a For Sale Board (applicable to villa/townhouse communities)
The 24/7 salesman that you don’t need to pay. Buyers will often drive around a community to see if they like an area before deciding that this is the place they’d like to live. They’ll also drive around an area that they’ve already decided to buy in to see which properties are for sale. If you don’t have a ‘for sale’ board up outside your property, you run the risk of losing out on other keen buyers.
