Use an estate agent who can say ‘No’

That’s my advice to home sellers in the current relatively slow-moving Johannesburg / Sandton homes market. It is essential that a seller squeezes the maximum value that he possibly can from his property sale. That is best achieved by using an agent who can draw a ‘line in the sand’ to a buyer and say: “No! That offer is not acceptable” This is possible and common under a sole mandate. But very difficult for an agent do that when knowing full well that the buyer can simply go to the next agent and say: “Will you take my low offer?” Under an open mandate, the agent is inevitably compelled to take the low offer – and then begin the negotiation with the seller. But, unfortunately, the process has started at too modest a level, with a deal less likely to occur. Under a sole mandate the process is different. The buyer has no choice but to engage with the original agent, who is able to ‘control’ the negotiation like a conductor in front of his orchestra.

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Ideally, the sale will be sealed at a price more adjacent to seller expectations than if there were a number of agents working on the property – each prepared to take virtually any offer Sellers may expect that the best way to achieve a good price is to create ‘competition’ on their property. This is true, but in fact, it is competition between buyers – not agents. A good agent can create tension and competition between buyers in order to nudge the price upwards. But a solid sole mandated agent will also have the strength to say “No” if the initial price offer comes in too low.